allowance
Americannoun
-
allowances
plural
-
the act of allowing.
-
an amount or share allotted or granted.
- Synonyms:
- allotment
-
a sum of money allotted or granted for a particular purpose, as for expenses.
Her allowance for the business trip was $200.
-
a sum of money allotted or granted to a person on a regular basis, as for personal or general living expenses.
The art student lived on an allowance of $600 a month.
When I was in first grade, my parents gave me an allowance of seven dollars a week.
- Synonyms:
- stipend
-
an addition or deduction based on an extenuating or qualifying circumstance.
an allowance for profit;
an allowance for depreciation.
-
acknowledgment; concession.
the allowance of a claim.
-
passive permission resulting from lack of interference; toleration.
the allowance of slavery.
- Synonyms:
- sufferance, permission, acceptance
- Antonyms:
- proscription, prohibition, interdiction
-
Machinery. a prescribed difference in dimensions of two closely fitting mating parts with regard to minimum clearance or maximum interference.
-
Coining. tolerance.
verb (used with object)
-
to place on a fixed allowance, as of food or drink.
-
to allocate (supplies, rations, etc.) in fixed or regular amounts.
idioms
noun
-
an amount of something, esp money or food, given or allotted usually at regular intervals
-
a discount, as in consideration for something given in part exchange or to increase business; rebate
-
(in Britain) an amount of a person's income that is not subject to a particular tax and is therefore deducted before his or her liability to taxation is assessed
-
a portion set aside to compensate for something or to cover special expenses
-
education a salary supplement given to a teacher who is appointed to undertake extra duties and responsibilities
-
admission; concession
-
the act of allowing; sanction; toleration
-
something allowed
-
(usually foll by for)
-
to take mitigating circumstances into account in consideration (of)
-
to allow (for)
-
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of allowance
1350–1400; Middle English alouance < Middle French. See allow, -ance
Explanation
When you're a kid, you might earn an allowance or a sum of money in exchange for doing chores around the house. Your parents' allowance — or tolerance — of your silly behavior will depend on how strict they are. An allowance is a quantity of something that's allowed or permitted within a set of rules or for a particular purpose. This could be a weekly allowance you earn as a kid, or it could be the allowance for passengers on a flight to have two carry-on items. To make allowances for someone means to treat someone leniently, or to give them a break.
Vocabulary lists containing allowance
Christopher Columbus' Diary: The First Voyage
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 16
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Shiloh
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The personal allowance threshold is set for the whole UK, so people in Scotland will also be affected, although other tax bands there vary, external.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
But a cut to the cash ISA allowance from £20,000 a year to £12,000, announced last year by Healey's predecessor Rachel Reeves, will be axed.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Do I need to keep detailed records of every expense, or would the university’s published allowance and proof of rent and utility payments generally be sufficient?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
She was considering moving into an apartment for her sophomore year, and I had to work through complications about leases, providing an allowance and related expenses.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
“The Jackson Five concert is in December. That’s four months from now. So when Papa gives us our allowance, you write how much money you’re putting in by your name next to ‘week number one.’
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
It also recommended an equivalent increase in the allowances available to employers for accommodation and meals provided to employees earning the main minimum wage rate, which Millar said she accepted.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Some pointed out perks of the pastorate, such as parsonages and gas allowances.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
Lecornu has said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits while ensuring a minimum income.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Among Russell 3000 companies, the number of businesses reporting the same security allowances similarly rose, in this case from 7% in 2025 to 11%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
With the twenty-five cents apiece that Dad gave Mary Alice and me, we could each buy five Nehis during our week, if we could slip off from Grandma long enough to get our allowances spent.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The first album I ever bought with my own money, allowanced saved up for weeks, was “Long Hard Climb.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2020
Further, I was told that tea, coffee, and sugar are roughly allowanced to each family.
From The Communistic Societies of the United States From Personal Visit and Observation by Charles Nordhoff
The poor dog, thus allowanced, must have been sorry that he ever joined us.
From Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Parker Gillmore
But the timber will be allowanced, and the land parcelled out, to each household according to its needs, as soon as either becomes scarce, as is already the case in Russia.
From The Conquest of Bread by Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin, Prince
Then don't you ever go and say you were allowanced, mind that.'
From The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
The Germans had been allowancing Recicourt to nine a day.
From The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me by William Allen White
And when the larger wood begins to grow scarce, what course does the peasant adopt?—The allowancing of individuals.
From The Place of Anarchism in Socialistic Evolution An Address Delivered in Paris by Henry Glasse
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
