borne: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Formal / Literary
Quick answer
What does “borne” mean?
Past participle of 'bear', meaning to have carried, endured, or given birth to.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Past participle of 'bear', meaning to have carried, endured, or given birth to.
Used in a figurative sense to describe something that is carried, supported, or sustained, often as a responsibility or burden.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core usage. The word 'borne' is equally formal in both variants.
Connotations
Carries formal, often bureaucratic or literary, connotations in both regions.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in British English due to historical and literary usage, but the difference is marginal.
Grammar
How to Use “borne” in a Sentence
be borne by [entity]have borne [burden/cost]borne out [by evidence]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “borne” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The costs must be borne by the local council.
- She has borne the responsibility with remarkable grace.
- The evidence borne by the witness was crucial.
American English
- The tax burden is largely borne by middle-class families.
- He had borne the insults for years before speaking out.
- Their theory was borne out by the experimental data.
adjective
British English
- The mosquito is a vector for several borne illnesses.
- Airborne particles were detected by the sensor.
American English
- Waterborne pathogens contaminated the supply.
- The airborne unit was deployed behind enemy lines.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to costs, expenses, or risks being carried by a specific party, e.g., 'The additional costs will be borne by the supplier.'
Academic
Used in epidemiology ('waterborne diseases'), history, and literature to describe burdens, evidence, or responsibilities.
Everyday
Rare in casual speech. Might be heard in news reports or formal discussions about responsibility.
Technical
Used in medicine (vector-borne diseases), aviation (airborne), and engineering (load-bearing).
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “borne”
- Confusing 'borne' with 'born'. Using 'borne' for a person's birth ('He was borne in London' is incorrect).
- Misspelling as 'borned'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Born' is exclusively used for the act of birth of a person or animal ('I was born in May'). 'Borne' is the past participle of 'bear' in all other senses (to carry, endure, give birth to a child *by someone* – 'She has borne three children').
No, it is primarily used in formal, literary, or technical contexts (e.g., law, business, medicine, academia). In everyday speech, simpler words like 'carried', 'endured', or 'paid for' are more common.
It is pronounced identically to 'born' in both British and American English (/bɔːn/ and /bɔːrn/ respectively). The spelling distinguishes its meaning and usage.
Yes, but almost exclusively in compound forms, particularly in technical fields: 'airborne' (in the air), 'waterborne' (carried by water), 'vector-borne' (transmitted by an organism), 'foodborne' (caused by contaminated food).
Past participle of 'bear', meaning to have carried, endured, or given birth to.
Borne is usually formal / literary in register.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “borne out by the facts”
- “borne aloft”
- “airborne division”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'BORNE has an E like Endured or CarriEd.'
Conceptual Metaphor
RESPONSIBILITY/SUFFERING IS A BURDEN TO BE CARRIED.
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'borne' used CORRECTLY?