lend Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb bestow a quality on
    contribute; add; bring; bestow; impart.
    • Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company
    • The music added a lot to the play
    • She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings
    • This adds a light note to the program
  2. verb give temporarily; let have for a limited time
    loan.
    • I will lend you my car
    • loan me some money
  3. 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

WordNet

Lend intransitive verb
Etymology
OE.lenen, AS. lnan, fr. ln loan; akin to G. lehnen to lend. See Loan.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Lent ; present participle & verbal noun Lending
Definitions
  1. To allow the custody and use of, on condition of the return of the same; to grant the temporary use of; as, to lend a book; -- opposed to borrow.
    Give me that ring. I'll lend it thee, my dear, but have no power To give it from me. Shak.
  2. To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the return of an equivalent in kind; as, to lend money or some article of food.
    Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. Levit. xxv. 37.
  3. To afford; to grant or furnish in general; as, to lend assistance; to lend one's name or influence.
    Cato, lend me for a while thy patience. Addison.
    Mountain lines and distant horizons lend space and largeness to his compositions. J. A. Symonds.
  4. To let for hire or compensation; as, to lend a horse or gig. ✍ This use of the word is rare in the United States, except with reference to money.

Webster 1913