Borrow
['bɒrəʊ] or ['bɑro]
Definition
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To copy or imitate; to adopt; as, to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another.
(v. t.) To feign or counterfeit.
(v. t.) To receive; to take; to derive.
(n.) Something deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage.
(n.) The act of borrowing.
Inputed by Hodge
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Ask the loan of, take or receive as a loan.[2]. Take, appropriate, adopt, make use of.
Inputed by Boris
Definition
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.
Checker: Tessie
Unserious Contents or Definition
v. t., to swap hot air for cold coin.
Inputed by Harlow
Examples
- An acquaintance with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes to borrow a small one, which I was careful to return soon and clean. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I didn't beg, borrow, or steal it. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Well, but--look here: you could BORROW on it any time you wanted. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Once in Maysville I could borrow a horse from an uncle who lived there; but I was more than a day's travel from that point. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- It was the duty of the banks, they seemed to think, to lend for as long a time, and to as great an extent, as they might wish to borrow. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- No, you shall not go there to borrow an umbrella, or find out where he is, from his friends. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Traders and other undertakers may, no doubt with great propriety, carry on a very considerable part of their projects with borrowed money. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- I am an impoverished wretch--the very gaberdine I wear is borrowed from Reuben of Tadcaster. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Here I borrowed a horse from my uncle, and the following day we proceeded on our journey. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- I had fifteen pistoles; so he borrowed occasionally of me to subsist, while he was looking out for business. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The Greeks derived their musical instruments from the Egyptians, and the Romans borrowed theirs from the Greeks, but neither the Greeks nor the Romans invented any. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- It had to go to school to Greco-Roman civilization; it also borrowed rather than evolved its culture. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- For this express reason, I had borrowed the half-guinea, that I might not be without a fund for my travelling-expenses. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Everywhere governments had been borrowing and issuing paper promises to pay interest, more interest than they could conveniently raise. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It foresees the facility of borrowing, and therefore dispenses itself from the duty of saving. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- In this exigency, government can have no other resource but in borrowing. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He devised a pegging machine, and out of his scanty earnings and at odd hours, with much pain and labour, and by borrowing money, he finally completed it. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- I've come a-borrowing, Mrs. Yeobright. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The facility of borrowing delivers them from the embarrassment which this fear and inability would otherwise occasion. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Rachael made the tea (so large a party necessitated the borrowing of a cup), and the visitor enjoyed it mightily. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- She finds compensations, no doubt--I know she borrows money of Gus--but then I'd PAY her to keep him in a good humour, so I can't complain, after all. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The man who borrows in order to spend will soon be ruined, and he who lends to him will generally have occasion to repent of his folly. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He introduces Rick, and then he is good friends with Mr. Vholes and borrows five pounds of him. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Checker: Marsha