name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   One who lends, especially money; specifically, a bank or other entity that specializes in granting loans.

   "[Polonius]: Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend; And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."

2. 2
   someone who lends money or gives credit in business matters wordnet

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A surname from German.

Synonyms

All synonyms

loanerbankerborroweefactorleaserletter

Antonyms

All antonyms

borrowerdonorlendeeseller

Example

More examples

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English lendare, leendare, variants of lenner, lenere, equivalent to lend + -er.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Lender.

Related phrases

lender of last resortmoney lendermoney-lendermortgage lenderneither a borrower nor a lender be

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.