Definitions for borrow
ˈbɒr oʊ, ˈbɔr oʊbor·row

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

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

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Borrownoun

   The thing borrowed.

   Etymology: from the verb.

   Yet of your royal presence I’ll adventure
   The borrow of a week. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.

2. To BORROWverb

   Etymology: borgen, Dutch; borgian, Saxon.

   1. To take something from another upon credit.

   He borrowed a box of the ear of the Englishman, and swore he would pay him again when he was able. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Neh. v. 4.

   2. To ask of another the use of something for a time.

   Then he said, go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours. 2 Kings, iv. 3.

   Where darkness and surprize made conquest cheap!
   Where virtue borrowed the arms of chance,
   And struck a random blow! John Dryden, Span. Friar.

   3. To take something of another.

   A borrow’d title hast thou bought too dear;
   Why didst thou tell me that thou wert a king? William Shakespeare, H. IV.

   They may borrow something of instruction even from their past guilt. Decay of Piety.

   I was engaged in the translation of Virgil, from whom I have borrowed only two months. John Dryden, Dufresn.

   These verbal signs they sometimes borrow from others, and sometimes make themselves; as one may observe among the new names children give to things. John Locke.

   Some persons of bright parts have narrow remembrance; for having riches of their own, they are not solicitous to borrow. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.

   4. To use as one’s own, though not belonging to one.

   Unkind and cruel, to deceive your son
   In borrow’d shapes, and his embrace to shun. John Dryden, Æn.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. borrow

   Borrow refers to the act of taking or receiving something from someone with the intention of returning it after a certain period of time. It often refers to a formal understanding where money, goods or services are lent, often with the expectation of being repaid with interest in case of financial borrowing. It can also refer to adopting or taking on concepts, ideas, words, styles from another person, source or culture.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

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 DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

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 WurdzRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BORROW

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

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BORROW

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Borrow is ranked #84748 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Borrow surname appeared 221 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Borrow.
   
   80% or 177 total occurrences were White.
   9.9% or 22 total occurrences were Black.
   4.9% or 11 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   4% or 9 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

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. Michael Heise:

   It has never been cheaper for countries such as France to borrow, Buying state bonds could influence the price of state bonds, but wouldn't have much impact on the economy.

2. Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell:

   It is difficult to ask banks to submit rates at which they believe they could borrow on a daily basis if they do not actually borrow very often.

3. James Nicoll:

   The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

4. Ashok Jangale:

   We have trained her son, who is literate, to keep a log and check the owner's log, we tell them not to borrow so much money for festivals and weddings: they should know what is trapping them. And that when they have paid off what they owe, they have a right to leave.

5. Kim Forrest:

   Investors are understanding that things aren't terrible but things aren't going to materially improve in the short term with the actions taken in China. It takes a long time to borrow money, to come up with plans, to build things.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=borrow
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=borrow
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borrow
5. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=borrow
6. ^ The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1989/pg1989-images.html#:~:text=borrow
7. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html