What does "mortgage" mean?
A legal agreement in which a borrower pledges real property as collateral for a loan used to purchase or refinance that property.
Mortgage
/ˈmɔɹ.ɡɪd͡ʒ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A legal agreement in which a borrower pledges real property as collateral for a loan used to purchase or refinance that property.
- Grammar: mortgage is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adjustment mortgage, antichresis, blanket mortgage, bond.
- Useful contrasts: cash purchase, full payment, uncollateralized asset.
- Usage evidence: The bank holds a mortgage on his building.
How to use "mortgage"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mortgage" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mortgage" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mortgage" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mortgage" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mortgage" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adjustment mortgage" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mortgage", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A legal agreement in which a borrower pledges real property as collateral for a loan used to purchase or refinance that property. countable, uncountable
"The appriser, therefore, (as the holder of a mortgage was then called,) entered upon possession, and in the language of Hotspur, "came me cranking in," and cut the family out of another monstrous cantle of their remaining property."
- 2 a conditional conveyance of property as security for the repayment of a loan wordnet
- 3 The state of being pledged. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"lands given in mortgage"
Verb
- 1 To borrow against a property, to obtain a loan for another purpose by giving away the right of seizure to the lender over a fixed property such as a house or piece of land; to pledge a property in order to get a loan. transitive
"to mortgage a property, an estate, or a shop"
- 2 put up as security or collateral wordnet
- 3 To pledge and make liable; to make subject to obligation; to achieve an immediate result by paying for it in the long term. figuratively, transitive
"She mortgaged her future for the pleasures of the relationship with the sculptor, a relationship she knew would be short."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The bank holds a mortgage on his building."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mortgage"?
Common synonyms include: adjustment mortgage, antichresis, blanket mortgage, bond, bottomry, bottomry bond.
How do you use "mortgage" in a sentence?
The bank holds a mortgage on his building.
How do you pronounce "mortgage"?
Pronounced /ˈmɔɹ.ɡɪd͡ʒ/.
Etymology
From Middle English morgage and Middle French mortgage, from Anglo-Norman morgage, from Old French mort gage (“dead pledge”), after a translation of judicial Medieval Latin mortuum wadium, with wadium from Frankish *wadi (“wager, pledge”). Compare gage and also wage. So called because rents and profits from the land were owed to the lender for as long as the gage existed (comparable to interest on a loan today), as opposed to the living gage, in which rents and profits automatically reduced the debt (paying it off over time).