borrow

borrow
bor|row
W3S2 [ˈbɔrəu US ˈba:rou, ˈbo:-] v [I and T]
[: Old English; Origin: borgian]
1.) to use something that belongs to someone else and that you must give back to them later
→↑lend, loan ↑loan
Can I borrow your pen for a minute?
borrow sth from sb
You are allowed to borrow six books from the library at a time.
They borrowed heavily (=borrowed a lot of money) from the bank to start their new business.
2.) to take or copy someone's ideas, words etc and use them in your own work, language etc
borrow sth from sb/sth
I borrowed my ideas from Eliot's famous poem 'The Waste Land'.
To borrow a phrase (=use what someone else has said) , if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
borrow from
English has borrowed words from many languages.
3.) borrow trouble
AmE informal to worry about something when it is not necessary
be living on borrowed time atlive1 (17)
beg, borrow, or steal atbeg
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HINT sense 1
Do not confuse borrow and lend (=give someone permission to use something of yours): I borrowed his bike. |Can you lend me your pen?
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Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Borrow — or borrowing can mean: to receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it. *In finance, monetary debt *In language, the use of loanwords *In arithmetic, when a digit become smaller than limit and the deficiency is taken from …   Wikipedia

  • Borrow — Bor row, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Borrowed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Borrowing}.] [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. ?95. See 1st {Borough}.] 1. To receive from another as a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • borrow — [bär′ō, bôr′ō] vt., vi. [ME borwen < OE borgian, to borrow, lend, be surety for, akin to beorgan, to protect & BOROUGH] 1. to take or receive (something) with the understanding that one will return it or an equivalent 2. to adopt or take over… …   English World dictionary

  • borrow — bor·row vt: to take or receive temporarily; specif: to receive (money) with the intention of returning the same plus interest bor·row·er n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. borrow …   Law dictionary

  • borrow — O.E. borgian to lend, be surety for, from P.Gmc. *borg pledge, from PIE *bhergh to hide, protect (see BURY (Cf. bury)). Sense shifted in O.E. to borrow, apparently on the notion of collateral deposited as security for something borrowed. Cf. O.E …   Etymology dictionary

  • Borrow — Bor row, n. 1. Something deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Ye may retain as borrows my two priests. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] 2. The act of borrowing. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Of your royal presence I ll… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • borrow — [v1] take for temporary use accept loan of, acquire, beg, bite, bum, cadge*, chisel*, give a note for*, hire, hit up*, lift, mooch*, negotiate, obtain, pawn, pledge, raise money, rent, run into debt, scrounge, see one’s uncle*, soak, sponge, take …   New thesaurus

  • Borrow — Borrow, Georg, geb. um 1805 in Norfolk, durchreiste als Agent der englischen Bibelgesellschaft den größten Theil Europas u. NAfrikas. Einen Hauptgegenstand seines Studiums bildeten die Zigeuner, unter denen er in seiner Jugend eine Zeit lang… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Borrow — (spr bórro), George, engl. Schriftsteller, geb. 17. Juli 1803 zu East Dereham in Norfolk, gest. 29. Juli 1881 in Oulton bei Lowestoft, war der Sohn eines Offiziers, führte in der Jugend ein Wanderleben ohne Unterricht, sogar eine Zeitlang unter… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Borrow — (Barre), Georg, geb. 1805 in Norfolk, soll als Kind unter den Zigeunern gelebt haben, durchreiste später als Agent der engl. Bibelgesellschaft Europa und einen Theil Afrikas, beschrieb das Zigeunerleben und seine eigenen Erlebnisse, viel Dichtung …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • borrow — ► VERB 1) take and use (something belonging to someone else) with the intention of returning it. 2) take and use (money) from a person or bank under agreement to pay it back later. ● be (living) on borrowed time Cf. ↑be on borrowed time… …   English terms dictionary

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