allocation
Americannoun
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the act of allocating; apportionment.
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the state of being allocated.
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the share or portion allocated.
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Accounting. a system of dividing expenses and incomes among the various branches, departments, etc., of a business.
noun
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the act of allocating or the state of being allocated
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a part that is allocated; share
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accounting a system of dividing overhead expenses between the various departments of a business
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social welfare (in a Social Services Department) the process of assigning referrals to individual workers, thus changing their status to cases
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of allocation
First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin allocātiōn- (stem of allocātiō ), equivalent to allocāt(us) ( see allocate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If it is your job to decide how much money goes to three charities, you are in charge of the allocation of your donation. The money each charity gets is their allocation. You'll often hear this word used when talking about things like government funding. People often debate the allocation of federal funds. Should tax dollars be used for the military, or for domestic needs like education and healthcare? These decisions are made by Congress and the President, who work together to create a budget to allocate funds appropriately.
Vocabulary lists containing allocation
Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Military-Industrial Complex" (1961)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The rules as they stand are contained in the Airports Slot Allocation Regulations 2025, which incorporated the EU's rules into UK law.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
The bill also establishes a Strategic Breakthrough Allocation program that awards up to $30 million in Small Business Administration funding to a single company provided it can bring in matching funding.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
The iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF, holding a traditional portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, has lost 6.3% since the fighting started in late February.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
"It's not a good time to have an oil shock," Fidelity's Global Head of Macro and Strategic Asset Allocation, Salman Ahmed, said explaining his funds had becoming more cautious.
From Reuters • Sep. 29, 2023
Address Allocation Before a local network can be connected to the Internet it must be allocated a unique IP address.
From Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet by Krol, Ed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
