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loan1

Pronunciation: /ləʊn/
Translate loan | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of loan

noun

  • a thing that is borrowed, especially a sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest:borrowers can take out a loan for £84,000
  • an act of lending something to someone:she offered to buy him dinner in return for the loan of the flat
  • short for loanword.

verb

[with object]
  • lend (a sum of money or item of property):the computer was loaned to us by the theatre [with two objects]:he knew Rab would not loan him money

Phrases

on loan

(of a thing) being borrowed:the painting is at present on loan to the Tate Gallery
(of a worker or sports player) on secondment to another organization or team, typically for an agreed fixed period: Roberts, on loan from United, scored his first goal for City today

Derivatives

loanable

adjective

loanee

Pronunciation: /ləʊˈniː/
noun

loaner

noun

Origin:

Middle English (also denoting a gift from a superior): from Old Norse lán, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch leen, German Lehn, also to lend

Do not confuse loan with lone. Loan means 'lend something' (camcorders will be loaned to select birdwatchers) or 'something borrowed', whereas lone means 'alone; single' (we sheltered under a lone tree).

loan in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of loan in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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