borrowing

Everyday

1. Taking something that belongs to someone else, with their permission, and giving it back later. tree →
2. (money) Getting money from a bank or person that must be paid back, often with extra (interest). tree →
3. (language) A word taken from another language, like «café» from French or «kangaroo» from an Aboriginal language. tree →
4. (maths, old) In subtraction, «borrowing» means taking ten from the next column (also called regrouping or exchanging). tree →
5. Borrowing can also mean a story or idea that one people take from another and make their own. tree →

In the lessons

In school, borrowing books from the library. In maths subtraction, children learn borrowing (exchanging): 52 − 17, borrow a ten so 12 − 7 = 5. In English lessons, English has many borrowings from French, Latin, Norse and Hindi. In money lessons, borrowing costs extra because of interest.

Examples

• I'm borrowing my sister's bike today. tree →
• Borrowing books from the library is free. tree →
• In 42 − 18 you need borrowing from the tens. tree →
• «Pyjamas» is a borrowing from Hindi/Urdu. tree →
• The country's borrowing is very high. tree →
• Thanks for borrowing me your pen – oops, I mean lending! tree →
• Borrowing tales is a mutual process, and when Indian meets European, European meets Indian; which borrowed from which, is a question which we have very few criteria to decide. tree →

Note

Trap: you «borrow FROM» someone, they «lend TO» you. «Can I borrow your pen?», not «Can you borrow me your pen?» (lend). Maths: in UK schools «exchanging» or «regrouping» is now often used instead of «borrowing».