Meaning & use
microloan
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A very small sum of money lent, usually to a person who cannot get a regular bank loan.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a microloan, two microloans, etc.
Patterns
- give someone a microloan
- take out a microloan
- a microloan of $200
The charity gives microloans to women who want to start small businesses.
She used a microloan of $500 to buy a sewing machine and open a tailoring shop.
Microloans often help people in rural areas who have no collateral.
Word forms
| plural | microloans |
|---|
Common combinations
- give a microloan
- The organization gives microloans to farmers.
- take out a microloan
- He took out a microloan to buy tools.
- small microloan
- Even a small microloan can change a family's life.
- microloan program
- The government started a microloan program for young entrepreneurs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- microcredit
- Microcredit refers to the whole system of giving small loans, while microloan is one specific loan.
- small loan
- Small loan is a general term and can be from any lender, not just a poverty-reduction program.
Word family
- microfinance noun
- Financial services, including microloans, for people with low incomes.
- microcredit noun
- The practice of giving very small loans to poor people.
- microlender noun
- An organization or person that gives microloans.
Commonly confused: microloan or macro loan?
microloan vs macro loan
A macro loan is a large loan, usually to a government or big company, the opposite of a microloan.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'microloan' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A microloan is a very small loan, so $300 fits. $5 million is far too large, a mortgage is not a microloan, and 30 years is too long for a typical microloan.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “microloan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.