Definitions for borrow
ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊbor·row

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. borrowverb

   get temporarily

   "May I borrow your lawn mower?"

2. adopt, borrow, take over, take upverb

   take up and practice as one's own

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Borrowverb

   to receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend

2. Borrowverb

   to take (one or more) from the next higher denomination in order to add it to the next lower; -- a term of subtraction when the figure of the subtrahend is larger than the corresponding one of the minuend

3. Borrowverb

   to copy or imitate; to adopt; as, to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another

4. Borrowverb

   to feign or counterfeit

5. Borrowverb

   to receive; to take; to derive

6. Borrownoun

   something deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage

7. Borrownoun

   the act of borrowing

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Borrow

   bor′ō, v.t. to obtain on loan or trust: to adopt from a foreign source: to derive one's authority from another (with from, of).—p.adj. Borr′owed, taken on loan, counterfeit, assumed.—n. Borr′ower.—Borrowing days, the last three days of March (O.S.), supposed in Scotch folklore to have been borrowed by March from April, and to be especially stormy. [A.S. borgian—borg, borh, a pledge, security.]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. BORROW

   v. t., to swap hot air for cold coin.

Matched Categories

1. • Accept

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'borrow' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2002

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'borrow' in Verbs Frequency: #563

How to pronounce borrow?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say borrow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of borrow in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of borrow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of borrow in a Sentence

1. Stephen Jay Gould:

   “Speciation does not necessarily promote evolutionary change; rather, speciation 'gathers in' and guards evolutionary change by locking and stabilization for sufficient geological time within a Darwinian individual of the appropriate scale. If a change in a local population does not gain such protection, it becomes—to borrow Dawkins's metaphor at a macroevolutionary scale—a transient duststorm in the desert of time, a passing cloud without borders, integrity, or even the capacity to act as a unit of selection, in the panorama of life's phylogeny.”

2. Ella Wheeler:

   Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, but has trouble enough of its own.

3. Pedro Pierluisi:

   Puerto Rico’s shameful treatment under Medicaid harms quality of life in the territory and has compelled the Puerto Rico government to over-borrow…to compensate.

4. Betsy DeVos:

   We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results.

5. Vikrant Parsai:

   Neither lend money to a great man nor borrow it from a powerful one.

Images & Illustrations of borrow

Popularity rank by frequency of use