Lend vs loan
Lend is a verb that means to let someone use something of yours for a while. Loan is usually a noun for money or something else that someone borrows and must give back.
lend verb
To let someone use something of yours for a while, expecting to get it back.
- Could you lend me your umbrella until tomorrow?
- The bank lent them money to buy a house.
loan noun
Money or something else that someone borrows and must pay back or return later.
- The bank approved a loan of fifty thousand dollars for the new business.
- She took out a student loan to pay for college.
Watch out
- Loan is also a verb meaning to lend. This is standard, especially in American English, for money and objects. Never use loan for the give or add meaning: say lend a hand.The neighbor agreed to loan us his ladder for the afternoon.
- Using lend to mean borrow is nonstandard, and most people think it is a mistake. You lend something to a person who borrows it.I asked to borrow her pen, and she was happy to lend it to me.
- Lend can also mean to give or add something, such as help, support, or a quality.The famous director lent his name to the campaign.
Test yourself
She took out a blank to buy her first car.
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loan. The blank needs a noun for the money she borrowed.
Could you blank me a hand with these heavy boxes?
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lend. Here the word means to give help, a meaning only lend has.
The bank approved the blank after checking her income.
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loan. The bank approved a thing, the money she asked to borrow.
The fresh flowers blank a cheerful feeling to the room.
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lend. The flowers add a quality to the room, which is a meaning of lend.