mortgages

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of mortgage.

   Many homeowners refinanced their mortgages while rates were low.

   The lender packaged dozens of mortgages into a single investment product.

   Note

   In the plural it means separate loans, each secured on its own house or piece of land: a lender holds many mortgages, and a household may carry two. The uncountable use, and the obsolete sense of a state of being pledged, do not take this plural. The same spelling also serves the present-tense verb, so mortgages can name things owed or an action taken.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of mortgage.

   The company mortgages its property whenever it needs fresh capital.

   He mortgages the family estate to settle his outstanding debts.

   Note

   A verb that always takes an object: what is pledged follows directly, as in mortgages the farm or mortgages the house. This -s form pairs with he, she, it or a singular noun. Used figuratively, the object can be less solid. A government that mortgages its future buys an immediate result with a long-term obligation.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2