loan

/ləʊn/ (bre, ipa) · /ləʊn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlōn/ (ame, mw) · /loʊn/ (ame, ipa)

loan — 名詞

  • loansingular
  • loansplural

1. a fixed sum of money that a financial institution provides to a person or organi

1.名詞A2
釋義

貸款

向金融機構借入並須償還的錢

a fixed sum of money that a financial institution provides to a person or organization, who must repay it over an agreed period, typically with additional charges (interest) included in the total.

例句

Ramón took out a loan from the credit union to open his own restaurant.

Ramón 從信用合作社貸款，開了自己的餐廳。

collocation: take out a loan

The Klein family used a student loan to pay for Yael's university fees.

Klein 一家用助學貸款支付 Yael 的大學學費。

collocation: student loan

同義詞
  • credit

    broader term — credit can be a spending limit or a loan; not necessarily a single fixed sum

  • advance

    implies receiving money before it is earned or due, often as part of a salary or contract

  • mortgage

    a specific type of loan for buying property, secured against the property itself

反義詞
  • deposit

    money placed into a bank account, not borrowed from one

用法筆記

This sense requires a determiner ('a loan', 'the loan', 'loans') or quantifier, unlike sense 2 which often appears uncountably in the pattern 'the loan of something'. Common verb partners include 'take out', 'pay off', 'repay', and 'apply for'.

常見錯誤

❌I asked the bank for a debt.
✅I asked the bank for a loan.
💡A loan is what you request; a debt is what you owe after you receive it.
❌The interest rate on my borrow is too high.
✅The interest rate on my loan is too high.
💡'Borrow' is a verb; the noun you take from a bank is a 'loan'.

2. the situation or arrangement in which one person gives an object or item to anot

2.名詞B1
釋義

出借

將物品暫時交給他人使用

the situation or arrangement in which one person gives an object or item to another person for a short time, expecting it to be returned afterward.

例句

Kemi asked the librarian for a loan of three reference books over the weekend.

Kemi 向圖書館員借了三本參考書，打算週末看。

pattern: a loan of [objects]

Amani's neighbour returned the lawnmower after a week-long loan.

Amani 的鄰居把割草機還回來，結束了為期一週的出借。

同義詞
  • borrowing

    emphasises receiving rather than giving; 'the borrowing of books' vs 'the loan of books'

  • lending

    emphasises the giver's perspective, whereas 'loan' focuses on the arrangement itself

  • hire

    implies payment for temporary use, while 'loan' usually implies no charge

用法筆記

Often used uncountably in the pattern 'the loan of [something]' (e.g., 'the loan of a bicycle'). Unlike sense 1, this sense does not involve financial institutions or interest payments. Frequently appears in formal or institutional contexts (libraries, museums, equipment hire).

常見錯誤

❌I got a loan of my aunt's dress for the party.' (mixing with money sense)
✅My aunt lent me her dress for the party.
💡For borrowing personal items, use 'lend' or 'borrow' as verbs rather than 'loan' as a noun.

3. a professional arrangement in which an athlete temporarily plays for a team that

3.名詞B2
釋義

租借

球員暫時為其他球隊效力

a professional arrangement in which an athlete temporarily plays for a team that is not their usual club, while still being under contract with their original team.

例句

The young forward joined the Valencia club on a season-long loan from his German team.

這位年輕前鋒從德國的球隊租借到瓦倫西亞，為期一季。

fixed phrase: on loan

Selim scored four goals during his loan spell at the second-division club last season.

Selim 上個賽季在租借到乙級聯賽球隊期間踢進了四球。

collocation: loan spell

同義詞
  • secondment

    used in business or government contexts for temporary employee assignments; not used in sports

用法筆記

Almost always appears in the fixed phrases 'on loan', 'loan spell', 'send out on loan', or 'join on loan'. Rarely used outside sports news or commentary. The compound 'loan player' is also common.

常見錯誤

❌The player is in loan to another club.
✅The player is on loan to another club.
💡The correct preposition is 'on', not 'in'.
❌He transferred to the other team on loan.' (wrong order)
✅He joined the other team on loan.
💡'On loan' describes the temporary arrangement, not a permanent transfer.

4. a term or expression that has been adopted into a language from a different lang

4.名詞C1
釋義

外來詞

從其他語言借用過來的詞語

a term or expression that has been adopted into a language from a different language, often adapted in spelling or pronunciation to fit the new language's sound system.

例句

The English word 'sushi' is a loan from the Japanese language.

英文裡「sushi」這個詞是從日語借來的外來詞。

pattern: a loan from [language]

'Boss' started as a Dutch loan before entering English in the seventeenth century.

「Boss」原本是荷蘭語的外來詞，在十七世紀進入英語。

同義詞
  • loanword

    the standard one-word compound form, used interchangeably with 'loan' in this sense

  • borrowed word

    more transparent but less common in academic writing

  • calque

    a different phenomenon — word-for-word translation rather than borrowing the word itself (e.g., 'skyscraper' → 'rascacielos')

用法筆記

Often premodified by a language name ('a French loan', 'a Japanese loan'). The compound 'loanword' (one word) is equally common and preferred in linguistics textbooks. The longer form 'borrowed word' is also used.

常見錯誤

❌The word 'piano' is a loan word from Italian' (confusing origin with loan status).
✅The word 'piano' is a loanword from Italian, adopted into English in the 1600s.
💡'Loanword' (one word) is the standard term in linguistics.

loan — 動詞