lend
verb
Simple meaning
Give temporarily; let have for a limited time.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lehndIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɛnd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Give temporarily; let have for a limited time
“I will lend you my car.”
transitive
To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
To afford; to grant or furnish in general.
intransitive
To make a loan.
reflexive
To be suitable or applicable, to fit.
proscribed
To borrow.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Give temporarily; let have for a limited time
Used this way, lend is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“I will lend you my car.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lend
- “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company.”verb
- “I will lend you my car.”verb
- “This story would lend itself well to serialization on television.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Disposing of money or property with the expectation that the same thing (or an equivalent) will be returned.
Someone who lends money or gives credit in business matters.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Be applicable to.
The transfer of goods and services to an ally to aid in a common cause.
A financial institution that makes loans.
Library that provides books for use outside the building.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.