1. an arrangement during the Second World War following the US Lend-Lease Act (1941). The US lent military and other equipment to countries at war with Germany. The programme cost the US $50 billion and it marked the beginning of war production in the US. Countries paid back the loans (= sums of money lent) in various ways, e.g. by allowing the US to use military bases in Europe, etc.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲