borrow

verb
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊ/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they borrow
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊ/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊ/
he / she / it borrows
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊz/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊz/
past simple borrowed
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊd/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊd/
past participle borrowed
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊd/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊd/
-ing form borrowing
🔊/ˈbɒrəʊɪŋ/
🔊/ˈbɔːrəʊɪŋ/
Idioms
jump to other results
  1. [transitive] to take and use something that belongs to somebody else, and return it to them at a later time借;借用
    • borrow something Can I borrow your umbrella?借你的伞用一下行吗?🔊🔊
    • borrow something from somebody/something Members can borrow up to ten books from the library at any one time.会员在图书馆每次最多可借十本书。🔊🔊
    • borrow something off somebody (British English, informal) I borrowed the tools I needed off my brother.我从兄弟那里借来了我需要的工具。
    compare lend
    Which Word? borrow / lendborrow / lend
    • These two words are often confused. You borrow something from someone else, while they lend it to you:这两个词常被混淆,借入用 borrow,借出用 lend
      • Can I borrow your pen?我可以借用你的钢笔吗?
      • Can I borrow a pen from you?我可以借用你的钢笔吗?
      • Here, I’ll lend you my pen.喏,我把钢笔借给你。
    Extra Examples
    • I'll borrow some coffee off the neighbours.我要从邻居那里借点咖啡。
    • I'm borrowing the office laptop for the weekend.我周末要借用办公室的笔记本电脑。
    • You can borrow the book from the local library.你可以从本地图书馆借这本书。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • heavily
    preposition
    • from
    • off
    See full entry
  2. [transitive, intransitive] to take money from a person or bank and agree to pay it back to them at a later time借入(款项);(向…)借贷
    • borrow something How much did you have to borrow to pay for this?你得借多少钱来买这个东西?
    • The goal is to borrow funds at a low interest rate.目标是以低利率借入资金。
    • borrow something from somebody/something She borrowed £2 000 from her parents.她向她的父母借了 2 000 英镑。🔊🔊
    • borrow from somebody/something I don't like to borrow from friends.我不喜欢向朋友借钱。🔊🔊
    • The company had borrowed heavily from state-owned banks.该公司从国有银行大量借款。
    • borrow something off somebody (informal) I had to borrow the money off a friend.我不得不向一个朋友开口借这笔钱。🔊🔊
    compare lend
    Extra Examples
    • She borrowed £50 from her mother.她向妈妈借了50英镑。
    • I borrowed £50 off my mum.我跟妈妈借了 50 英镑。
    Topics Moneya2, Houses and homesa2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • heavily
    preposition
    • from
    • off
    See full entry
  3. [intransitive, transitive] to take words, ideas, etc. from another language, person, etc. and use them as your own引用,借用(思想、言语等)
    • borrow (from somebody/something) The author borrows heavily from Henry James.那位作家大量引用亨利 · 詹姆斯的作品。🔊🔊
    • His designs borrow freely from the architecture of ancient Egypt.他的设计大量地借鉴了古埃及的建筑风格。
    • borrow something (from somebody/something) Some musical terms are borrowed from Italian.某些音乐术语是从意大利语引入的。🔊🔊
    • The villain was—to borrow a phrase from Alex—‘all bark and no bite’.恶棍是-从亚历克斯那里借来的一句话-“全部吠叫,不咬人”。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • freely
    preposition
    • from
    See full entry
  4. Word OriginOld English borgian ‘borrow against security’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German borgen.
Idioms
be (living) on borrowed time
  1. to still be alive after the time when you were expected to die活过寿限;大限已近
    • He’s been living on borrowed time ever since his last heart attack.自从他上次心脏病发作以来,他一直靠借来的时间生活。
  2. to be doing something that other people are likely to soon stop you from doing做很快就会遭到制止的事;好景不长
    • According to the latest opinion polls, the government is living on borrowed time.根据最新民意测验,政府靠借来的时间生活。