afford
[ uh-fawrd, uh-fohrd ]
/ əˈfɔrd, əˈfoʊrd /
verb (used with object)
to be able to do, manage, or bear without serious consequence or adverse effect: The country can't afford another drought.
to be able to meet the expense of; have or be able to spare the price of: Can we afford a trip to Europe this year? The city can easily afford to repair the street.
to be able to give or spare: He can't afford the loss of a day.
to furnish; supply: The transaction afforded him a good profit.
to be capable of yielding or providing: The records afford no explanation.
to give or confer upon: to afford great pleasure to someone.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Origin of afford
OTHER WORDS FROM afford
un·af·ford·ed, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH afford
accord, affordWords nearby afford
affluential, affluent society, affluenza, afflux, affogato, afford, affordable, Affordable Care Act, afforest, affranchise, affray
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for afford
British Dictionary definitions for afford
afford
/ (əˈfɔːd) /
verb
(preceded by can, could, etc) to be able to do or spare something, esp without incurring financial difficulties or without risk of undesirable consequenceswe can afford to buy a small house; I can afford to give you one of my chess sets; we can't afford to miss this play
to give, yield, or supplythe meeting afforded much useful information
Derived forms of afford
affordable, adjectiveaffordability, nounWord Origin for afford
Old English geforthian to further, promote, from forth forth; the Old English prefix ge- was later reduced to a-, and the modern spelling (C16) is influenced by words beginning aff-
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012