- 1[transitive] to take and use something that belongs to someone else, and return it to them at a later time borrow something Can I borrow your umbrella? borrow something from somebody/something Members can borrow up to ten books from the library at any one time. compare lend
- 2[transitive, intransitive] to take money from a person or bank and agree to pay it back to them at a later time borrow something (from somebody/something) How much did you have to borrow to pay for this? She borrowed $2,000 from her parents. borrow (from somebody/something) I don't like to borrow from friends. compare lend, loan
- 3[intransitive, transitive] to take words, ideas, etc. from another language, person, etc. and use them, as your own borrow (from somebody/something) The author borrows heavily from Henry James. borrow something (from somebody/something) Some musical terms are borrowed from Italian. Idioms
- 1to still be alive after the time when you were expected to die He's been living on borrowed time ever since his last heart attack.
- 2to be doing something that other people are likely to stop you from doing soon According to the latest opinion polls, the government is living on borrowed time.
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NAmE//ˈbɑroʊ//, NAmE//ˈbɔroʊ//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they borrow ,
he / she / it borrows ,
past simple borrowed ,
-ing form borrowing ,
- These two words are often confused. You borrow something from someone else, while they lend it to you:Can I borrow your pen? Can I borrow a pen from you? Here, I’ll lend you my pen.
Check pronunciation: borrow