# borrow

Pronunciation: US say "BAH-roh" /ˈbɑɹ.oʊ/; UK say "BO-roh" /ˈbɒɹ.əʊ/

## Verb

1. To receive something from another person temporarily, intending to return it.
   - Simple: To take something from someone for a short time, planning to give it back.
   - _He asked to borrow my car for the weekend._
   - _Students often borrow equipment from the laboratory._
2. To receive money from a bank or other lender under an agreement to pay it back over time.
   - Simple: To take money from a bank or person and pay it back later.
   - _Many families borrow heavily to cover college costs._
   - _She borrowed from the bank to start her business._
3. To adopt an idea from another source and use it as one's own.
   - Simple: To take an idea from someone else and use it as your own.
   - _The director borrowed heavily from classic film techniques._
   - _Designers borrow concepts from nature all the time._
4. To adopt a word from another language into one's own.
   - Simple: To take a word from another language and use it in your own.
   - _Many languages borrow vocabulary from English._
   - _English borrowed "kindergarten" directly from German._
5. To temporarily obtain something on behalf of another person.
   - Simple: To get something for a short time so that someone else can use it.
   - _I'll borrow some chairs for the guests this evening._
   - _He borrowed a projector for the whole team to use._
6. To take something of little value from someone, with little likelihood of returning it. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To take something small from someone when you probably won't give it back.
   - _She came over to borrow a cup of flour._
   - _He borrowed a few teabags from the office kitchen._
7. In subtraction, to deduct one from a digit of the minuend and add ten to the next lower digit so that subtracting a larger digit yields a positive result.
   - Simple: In subtraction, to take ten from the next column so you can finish the problem.
   - _To compute 52 minus 27, you borrow ten for the ones column._
   - _The student borrowed from the hundreds digit to complete the calculation._
8. To briefly take a person away from their current activity in order to speak with them or get their help. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To take someone away from what they are doing for a short talk or some help.
   - _Could I borrow you for a quick word after the meeting?_
   - _She borrowed him from the kitchen to fix the printer._
10. To aim a putt off the straight line so the slope of the green carries the ball back toward the hole.
   - Simple: To aim a putt to one side so the slope of the green curves the ball toward the hole.
   - _He read the green carefully and decided to borrow two feet to the left._
   - _Players often borrow more on steeply sloping greens._
12. To feign or counterfeit; to put on a false show of something.
   - Simple: To pretend something is real or true when it is not.
   - _The con artist could borrow sincerity at will, fooling even careful investors._
   - _She borrowed an innocence she did not possess and won the jury over._
13. To give someone the temporary use of something; to lend. *(dialectal, Malaysia, Singapore, West Midlands)*
   - Simple: To let someone use something of yours for a while, or to lend it to them.
   - _Hey, could you borrow me your ladder this afternoon?_
   - _My cousin borrowed me his notes, so I can study for the exam lah._
15. To obtain the release of a person held in prison, as by ransom or pledge.
   - Simple: To pay or arrange for someone to be set free from prison.
   - _The young lord swore he would borrow his true love from the prison tower before dawn._
   - _No gold could borrow the captured knight from his enemy's keep._

## Noun

9. In golf, the sideways deviation of a rolling ball's path caused by the slope of the green.
   - Simple: In golf, the way a sloped green makes a rolling ball curve to one side.
   - _The caddie advised allowing for a foot of borrow on the long putt._
   - _A subtle borrow near the cup pulled the ball off line._
11. In Rust and some other languages, the temporary transfer of a value's ownership to another region of code, which later returns it.
   - Simple: In some programming languages, a way to use a value for a while without taking it away from its owner.
   - _A mutable borrow in Rust prevents any other access until it ends._
   - _The function takes a borrow rather than taking ownership of the string._
14. An excavated pit from which soil, gravel, or other fill is dug for use in construction elsewhere.
   - Simple: A hole dug to take out soil or gravel that is needed somewhere else.
   - _Engineers located a borrow close to the embankment to cut hauling costs._
   - _Rainwater collected in the abandoned borrow beside the new bypass._

## Noun

16. A ransom paid for a captive; also a pledge or guarantee given as security. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A payment or promise made to free a captive or to guarantee a deal.
   - _The earl set the borrow at a thousand crowns for the captured baron._
   - _He left his sword as a borrow against his promised return._
17. A person who stands as surety for another, taking on responsibility or standing bail on their behalf. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person who promises to pay or take responsibility if someone else fails to.
   - _The merchant served as borrow for his apprentice's good conduct._
   - _No borrow would come forward to guarantee the stranger's debts._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–15** — From Middle English borwen, from Old English borgian ("to borrow, lend, pledge surety for"), from Proto-Germanic *burgōną ("to pledge, take care of") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- ("to take care"). It is related to Dutch borgen and German borgen, and to Old English beorgan ("to save, preserve").
**Meanings 16–17** — From Middle English borwe, from Old English borh, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną ("to borrow, lend"), which is related to Etymology 1.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/borrow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).