mortgage

mortgage — noun

IPA/ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ/
KK[mˈɔrɡədʒ]IPA/ˈmɔːrɡɪdʒ/
  • mortgagesingular
  • mortgagesplural

1. a type of loan agreement with a bank or other financial institution that lets yo

1.nounB1
Definition

a type of loan agreement with a bank or other financial institution that lets you purchase property, typically a house or flat, by borrowing money that you repay in fixed monthly amounts over an agreed period

Example

Christopher and Layla took out a thirty-year mortgage to buy their first home.

take out a mortgage — enter into the agreement

The bank approved Bao's mortgage application after checking her income and credit history.

Common collocations
  • take out a mortgage
  • pay off a mortgage
  • mortgage payment
  • mortgage rate
  • mortgage lender
  • mortgage application
  • mortgage on a property
  • keep up with the mortgage
Synonyms
  • home loan

    more informal, used by lenders and in everyday conversation

  • housing loan

    broader term that can include loans for renovation or construction as well as purchase

Grammar Patterns

take out + a + mortgage

pay off + the + mortgage

mortgage + on + property

Usage Note

The noun mortgage is commonly used with the verbs take out (to begin a mortgage), pay off (to finish repaying it), and the phrase keep up with (to make regular payments on time). Unlike a general loan, a mortgage is secured against a property — if the borrower fails to pay, the lender can take ownership of the property.

Common Mistakes

I need to mortgage for the house.
I need a mortgage for the house.
mortgage is a noun here, not a verb; use the article a.
We got a loan from the bank to buy the house.' (ambiguous)
We got a mortgage from the bank to buy the house.
a mortgage is the specific type of property-secured loan, not any general loan.

mortgage — verb

IPA/ˈmɔː.ɡɪdʒ/
KK[mˈɔrɡədʒ]IPA/ˈmɔːr.ɡɪdʒ/

Word family

  • mortgagor
    nounC2
  • mortgagee
    nounC2
  • mortgaged
    adjectiveB2
  • remortgage
    verbC1
  • remortgage
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Mortgage is the standard formal term for a loan secured against a property to buy it. Home loan is a more informal, everyday synonym commonly used by lenders in advertising and by people in conversation — for example, 'We got a home loan through the credit union.' Housing loan is a broader term that can include loans for building, renovating, or buying a home, and appears more often in official documents and government schemes. While a mortgage is always secured directly against the property (the lender can take the house if you default), a home loan can sometimes refer to an unsecured personal loan for housing costs. Use mortgage for precise financial and legal contexts, home loan in casual speech, and housing loan when referring to government or institutional programmes.

mortgage ↗home loan ↗housing loan

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • take out a mortgage
  • pay off a mortgage
  • apply for a mortgage
  • mortgage on a property

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchAnglo-NormanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Mortgage comes from Old French 'mort' (dead) and 'gage' (pledge), literally meaning 'dead pledge'. In medieval law, the pledge was considered 'dead' — it either ended when the debt was fully paid, or the property was permanently taken by the lender. The word entered English in the 1300s and is still used to describe the same basic arrangement.