; lending
Loan vs. Lend: Usage Guide
The verb loan is one of the words English settlers brought to America and continued to use after it had died out in Britain. Its use was soon noticed by British visitors and somewhat later by the New England literati, who considered it a bit provincial. It was flatly declared wrong in 1870 by a popular commentator, who based his objection on etymology. A later scholar showed that the commentator was ignorant of Old English and thus unsound in his objection, but by then it was too late, as the condemnation had been picked up by many other commentators. Although a surprising number of critics still voice objections, loan is entirely standard as a verb. You should note that it is used only literally; lend is the verb used for figurative expressions, such as "lending a hand" or "lending enchantment."
Examples of lend in a Sentence
Tiffany Hopkins, Bon Appétit, 8 Apr. 2024
Canton generously lends its space to two private dining rooms, the Silk Room and the Music Room, which can be reconfigured into one entertainment space.
—Stacey Wreathall, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
Shariat adds edamame to the mix, but cooked red lentils and black beans will provide the same experience while also lending a more vibrant color to your dip.
—Audrey Bruno, SELF, 5 Apr. 2024
Glamour editors like that the formula has sea salt to lend texture, delivering those covetable beachy waves, but also boasts sea kelp, a moisturizing ingredient that helps prevent any crunch.
—Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 4 Apr. 2024
Plays do not ordinarily lend themselves well to audiobooks.
—Rhoda Feng, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
While outstanding loans would not appear locked in these contracts, data shows 1.3 billion USDC has been lent out from these applications, indicating that outstanding loans do not meaningfully change the analysis.
—Mark Lurie, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Certain sports lend themselves to getting the Hollywood treatment, and arguably golf falls into that category, perhaps because of the slower pace of play and the focus oftentimes on the personalities away from the course rather than on the action.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
The project was produced by Alex Lustig and Beau Nox–their touches lend the album to feel seamless and also progressive.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English lenen, (15th century) lenden "to give, bestow, give for temporary use," going back to Old English lǣnan, derivative of lǣn "something lent, grant, gift" — more at loan entry 1
Note: The -d- in late Middle English lenden, continued into Modern English, was imported from the past lende and the past participle lent, apparently by association with verbs such as bend entry 1, send entry 1, wend, where the dental consonant was part of the base form.
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)
Phrases Containing lend
Dictionary Entries Near lend
Cite this Entry
“Lend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lend. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
lend
verb
; lending
Legal Definition
lend
verb
More from Merriam-Webster on lend
Nglish: Translation of lend for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of lend for Arabic Speakers
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