To allow someone to borrow or make use of something temporarily. Some linguists, especially in British English, believe that "loan" should only be used as a noun, while the correct verb is only "lend." Primarily heard in US. I can loan $20 to you, but I'll need it back by this weekend. Would you mind loaning your pencil to me? I forgot to bring one. The bank agreed to loan the money for the refurbishments to our company.