allotment
Americannoun
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the act of allotting.
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a portion or thing allotted; a share granted.
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(in U.S. military use) the portion of pay that an officer or enlisted person authorizes to be paid directly to another person, as a dependent, or an institution, as an insurance company.
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British. a plot of land rented to a gardener.
noun
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the act of allotting; apportionment
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a portion or amount allotted
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a small piece of usually public land rented by an individual for cultivation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of allotment
First recorded in 1565–75; allot + -ment; compare French allotement
Explanation
Say you’re stranded on an island with a group of people and you divide your limited food supply. The portion you each receive is your share, also called your allotment. No fighting over the coconuts! The word allotment shows how languages intertwined through the ages. We can see the word's origins in several languages, including the Old English hlot, the Gothic hlauts, the Old High German hloz, and the Old French aloter. All referred to dividing something into groups, or “lots.” A "lot" refers to a group of things — stores refer to shipments of goods as being divided into “lots.” That idea of grouping will help you remember the meaning of allotment.
Vocabulary lists containing allotment
The Dawes Act
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 23–29, 2021
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Fallen Angels
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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.
Humphrys described working three part-time jobs while at school, including a morning paper round, being a messenger for a chemist and growing food in an allotment.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
In the hybrid system, customers buy an allotment of usage tokens, as the basic unit of AI computing is known.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Along with CalFresh, she gets a monthly allotment of healthy food through the Women, Infants and Children program.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2025
McCarthy says their federal food allotment is down 35%.
From Salon • Oct. 11, 2025
He didn’t even run going past the open space that led to the old allotment, though he turned his head away, not wanting to see the shed.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
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.
