Meaning & use
borrowed
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“borrowed” is a form of “borrow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Took or used something that belongs to someone else and will be given back later.
Grammar: Regular past tense of borrow; takes an object, and the person you got it from follows from: I borrowed a pen from Mia.
Patterns
- borrowed something from someone
- borrowed something for a short time
She borrowed my umbrella yesterday and still has it.
We borrowed a car from my uncle for the weekend.
He borrowed heavily to pay for his studies.
verbtransitivetechnical
Took a word or idea from another language or source and used it.
Grammar: Used about words and ideas, often with from: English borrowed this word from French.
Patterns
- borrowed something from a language
- borrowed from another language
English borrowed many words from Latin and French.
The design was borrowed from an older model.
Several of these terms were borrowed from Arabic.
adjectivebefore a noun
Taken from someone else and used temporarily, rather than original or owned.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: borrowed money, a borrowed book.
Patterns
- borrowed money
- a borrowed item
He paid off the borrowed money within a year.
The book on the table is a borrowed copy.
She arrived in a borrowed dress.
Word forms
| base form | borrow |
|---|---|
| third person singular | borrows |
| present participle | borrowing |
| past tense | borrowed |
| past participle | borrowed |
Common combinations
- borrowed money
- They used borrowed money to start the business.
- borrowed from
- This word is borrowed from Italian.
- borrowed time
- After the accident he felt he was living on borrowed time.
- heavily borrowed
- The company is heavily borrowed and needs new investors.
- a borrowed book
- Please return the borrowed book to the library.
Synonyms and how they differ
- loaned
- Not a synonym from the borrower's side: loaned describes what the lender did, so use borrowed for the person who received it.
- adopted
- Fits when talking about words or customs taken from elsewhere, but not about objects you must give back.
- appropriated
- Stronger and often disapproving, suggesting something was taken without permission.
Opposites
Word family
- borrow verb
- the base form: to take and use something temporarily
- borrower noun
- a person or organization that borrows, especially money
- borrowing noun
- the act of taking something temporarily, or money taken as a loan
Commonly confused: borrowed or lend? borrowed or loan?
borrowed vs lend
Lend goes the other way: you lend something to someone, and they borrow it from you.
borrowed vs loan
As a verb, loan is mainly American and business-like; borrow is the everyday word for the person receiving.
Practice
Which sentence uses borrowed correctly?
Choose one answer.
Borrow takes the thing as its object and the source with from: borrow a dress from her sister. Option 0 uses the pattern of lend, which is the opposite direction, and option 2 wrongly inserts to.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “borrowed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.