borrowing power

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablefinance

   the amount of money that a person or organization is able to borrow, based on income, assets, or credit history

   Grammar: Uncountable; use 'the' or a possessive: 'their borrowing power'.

   Patterns

   • someone's borrowing power
   • increase borrowing power
   • reduce borrowing power

   After she paid off her credit cards, her borrowing power increased.

   The bank explained that his borrowing power was limited because he had no steady income.

   A higher interest rate can reduce a country's borrowing power.

2. 2noununcountablefinancebusiness

   the ability of a government or business to raise funds by taking on debt

   Grammar: Often used with 'of' to show whose ability it is: 'the borrowing power of the government'.

   Patterns

   • the borrowing power of something
   • limit borrowing power

   The borrowing power of smaller companies fell during the recession.

   Investors watched the borrowing power of the government carefully.

Common combinations

increase borrowing power

A better credit score can increase your borrowing power.

reduce borrowing power

Missing loan payments will reduce your borrowing power.

borrowing power of

The borrowing power of the bank depends on its reserves.

limit borrowing power

New rules limit the borrowing power of local councils.

Synonyms and how they differ

credit capacity

More formal and often used in banking; it focuses on the maximum credit available rather than general ability to borrow.

borrowing capacity

Very close in meaning, but 'capacity' often suggests a fixed upper limit, while 'power' can be more general.

Word family

borrow verb

to take money with the intention of paying it back

borrower noun

a person or organization that borrows money

Commonly confused: borrowing power or buying power?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “borrowing power”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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