Definition of "microlending" [microlending]

• See microcredit. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "If you think "microlending" is just about helping a street vendor in India buy a cart or getting a new sewing machine for a seamstress in Tanzania, think again."
• "But Web sites that specialize in "microlending" -- small loans mainly to the working poor -- say they're thriving as they address both issues."
• "Social lending sites are different from so-called microlending sites like Kiva. org, a nonprofit organization that allow donors to make zero-interest loans to specific causes around the globe."