lend

/lɛnd/

/lɛnd/

Other forms: lent; lending; lends

When you lend something, you loan it or let someone borrow it. You might, for example, lend your bike to your brother — if he promises to be careful with it.

Libraries lend people books, and car rental companies lend people cars — in both cases, the item that's been borrowed is supposed to be returned eventually. Another way to lend is to "add a quality to," or "be suitable for." You could say that you think your hat lends you a mysterious quality, or that your trench coat lends itself to walking through a foggy city at dusk.

Definitions of lend

1. verb

   give temporarily; let have for a limited time
   “I will lend you my car”

   synonyms: loan

   antonyms:

   borrow

   get temporarily

   types:

   farm out, hire out, rent out

   grant the services of or the temporary use of, for a fee

   trust

   extend credit to

   advance

   pay in advance

   type of:

   give

   transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody
2. verb

   have certain characteristics of qualities for something; be open or vulnerable to
   “This story would lend itself well to serialization on television”

   “The current system lends itself to great abuse”

   type of:

   be

   have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
3. verb

   bestow a quality on
   “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company”

   synonyms: add, bestow, bring, contribute, impart

   types:

   factor

   be a contributing factor

   instill, transfuse

   impart gradually

   tinsel

   impart a cheap brightness to

   throw in

   add as an extra or as a gratuity

   breathe

   impart as if by breathing

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation