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pawnbroker meaning and examples

2025-08-31

Meaning

A pawnbroker is a person or business that lends money to people in exchange for valuable items (such as jewelry, electronics, or instruments) as security. If the borrower does not repay the loan within the agreed time, the pawnbroker has the right to sell the item.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Noun
  • Countable: Yes (a pawnbroker, two pawnbrokers)
  • Used to refer to both the individual and the business itself.

Sentence structures:

  • "borrow money from a pawnbroker"
  • "take an item to a pawnbroker"
  • "a pawnbroker’s shop"

Common Phrases

  • pawnshop – the shop run by a pawnbroker
  • pawn ticket – a receipt given by the pawnbroker for the item
  • redeem from a pawnbroker – to get your item back after paying the loan

Collocations

  • licensed pawnbroker
  • local pawnbroker
  • pawned at the pawnbroker’s
  • visit a pawnbroker

Examples

  1. He borrowed some cash from the pawnbroker using his watch as collateral.
  2. The pawnbroker kept the ring until she could repay the loan.
  3. Many people went to the pawnbroker during hard financial times.
  4. A pawnbroker’s shop usually has three gold balls as a traditional sign.
  5. She redeemed her necklace from the pawnbroker after two months.
  6. The pawnbroker explained the interest rate before lending the money.
  7. He sold his guitar to the pawnbroker when he needed quick money.
  • pawnshop owner
  • moneylender (broader, not always the same)
  • broker (general term, but not identical)