Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use borrow in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Borrow means to receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it. Example: “Can I borrow a sheet of paper?”

Examples of borrow by meaning

verbTo receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.

  • Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71

verbTo adopt (an idea) as one's own.

  • to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another

verbTo adopt a word from another language.

  • Americans, for example, call newcomers to Antarctica “fingies”, which comes from FNGs – a borrowed military abbreviation that means “Fucking New Guy”.2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian

verbTo lend.

  • “Rosie, borrow me your look looker, I bet my lips are all.1951, The Grenadiers, edited by James P. Leary, Wisconsin Folklore, University of Wisconsin Press, published 1998, →ISBN, Milwaukee Talk...
  • 'Then can my young son borrow me his old rifle?'1996, Beverley Harper, Storms Over Africa
  • In a bank they borrow you the money at very low rates and if you don't take it back, you suffer the consequences in a jail sentence and there's a certain procedure it goes through.1999, Sarah Curtis, Children who Break the Law, Or, Everybody Does it, page 21

verbTo temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).

  • My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend

verbTo receive (something, usually of trifling value) from somebody, with little possibility of returning it.

  • Can I borrow a sheet of paper?

verbTo interrupt the current activity of (a person) and lead them away in order to speak with them, get their help, etc.

  • John, can I borrow you for a second? I need your help with the copier.

nounDeviation of the path of a rolling ball from a straight line; slope; slant.

  • This putt has a big left-to right borrow on it.

More sentences with borrow

  • Can I borrow an eraser? — Sorry pal, I haven't got one.From the entry one
  • I wanted to borrow my little sister's jeans, but they didn't fit.From the entry fit
  • You want to borrow my credit card for a week? What's your game?From the entry game
  • Chinese has borrowed several words from English, but it does not have a genetic relationship to English.From the entry genetic
  • It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.From the entry only
  • You're welcome to borrow my bicycle, only please take care of it.From the entry only
  • You never bring you’re own pen but always ask to borrow mine, you scabby git!From the entry scabby
  • My laptop has been behaving erratically ever since you borrowed it.From the entry behave
  • Whichever book you borrow, be sure to return it to the library on time.From the entry whichever
  • Do you have a fiver I could borrow? I can pay you back tomorrow.From the entry fiver
  • Having survived when many others died, she decided to make good use of her borrowed time.From the entry borrowed time
  • The word cwm, borrowed from Welsh, is an example of the letter w serving as a vowel in English.From the entry vowel
  • I've lost my pen! —Here mate, borrow mine. —You legend.From the entry legend
  • You borrowed my car but never gave it back. And as well as that, you stole my bike.From the entry as well as
  • I have a few books; please borrow whichever interest you.From the entry whichever
  • For some loanwords borrowed from French into English, the standard English pronunciation is an approximation of the French, as with denoument.From the entry approximation
  • He might pay back the money he borrowed without you reminding him, but I wouldn't hold my breath.From the entry hold one's breath
  • My long-lost brother showed up, borrowed money and vanished again.From the entry long-lost
  • He paid her back with interest, giving her ₿3 and an NFT for the $6 he'd borrowed last week.From the entry pay back
  • You're welcome to borrow my car, such as it is.From the entry as is
  • Today's homework is in your book. Could I borrow it?From the entry in one's book
  • You want to borrow three hundred dollars? No chance!From the entry no chance
  • I'd like to borrow a plate. Do you mind?From the entry do you mind
  • You can borrow any one book at a time.From the entry any one
  • Which book can I borrow?' -Any one.From the entry any one
  • He can't borrow my car because he can't drive stick.From the entry drive stick
  • You can't expect him to spare any more money, because he's borrowed up to the hilt from the bank for his new apartment.From the entry to the hilt
  • You really must come and see us soon, pal. - We'll see: I can borrow my dad's car, but I must bring it back before midnight.From the entry must
  • The wealthy pay most of the taxes but the uberwealthy hardly pay any at all: they hold stock and property and live off debt borrowed against that collateral.From the entry wealthy
  • Could I borrow a beach chaise?” “Beach chaise?” “I promise it's for the float.2023 July 20, Jake Bender & Zach Dunn, “Pride Parade” (17:25 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5, episode 3, spoken by…. From the entry chaise

Meaning of borrow

  1. verb To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
  2. verb To receive money from a bank or other lender under the agreement that the lender will be paid back over time.
  3. verb To adopt (an idea) as one's own.

Full definition of borrow

Questions about borrow in a sentence

How do you use borrow in a sentence?
Borrow is used as a verb and noun. For example: “Can I borrow a sheet of paper?”
What is a short sentence with borrow?
“Can I borrow a sheet of paper?”
What does borrow mean?
Borrow means to receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: borrow (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use borrow in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/borrow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.