afford

[ uh-fawrd, uh-fohrd ]

/ əˈfɔrd, əˈfoʊrd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR afford ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

affluent society, affluential, affluenza, afflux, affogato, afford, affordable, affordable care act, afforest, affranchise, affray

Origin of afford

before 1050; Middle English aforthen, iforthen, Old English geforthian to further, accomplish, equivalent to ge- y- + forth forth + -ian infinitive suffix

Related forms

un·af·ford·ed, adjective

Can be confused

accord afford

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for afford

As a matter of dollars and cents, America in the short term may be able to afford disability and food stamps.
Bush, Christie, Romney: Who’ll Be the GOP Class Warrior?|Lloyd Green|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It represented everything about the kind of comfort and the little luxuries in life that a good glass of Scotch can afford us.
A Whisky Connoisseur Remembers That First Sip of The Macallan||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Selling off the extras, I saw my neighbor marvel at the scent and murmur that he wished he could afford one.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He belongs to a gym, he can afford to pay for that: he can shower, he can keep his belongings in a series of lockers there.
This Fashion World Darling Is Homeless|Erica Wagner|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Women who could afford to make bail started being released every two hours early Wednesday afternoon.
Dispatch From USC Protests over Ferguson|Maya Richard Craven|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A boy's life in a secluded New England town in winter does not afford many points for illustration.
The Story of a Bad Boy|Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Meanwhile enough machinery and other equipment was being prepared and shipped from Canada to afford employment to 10,000 men.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VIII (of VIII)|various
The first are primarily social in purpose, and afford a place for the children of mothers who have to leave their homes for work.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5|Various
My musical education, in spite of the limitations of opportunity just mentioned, was the best that the time could afford.
Reminiscences, 1819-1899|Julia Ward Howe.
We wondered how these unfashionable people about us could look so contented and afford to order such liberal supplies.
The Car That Went Abroad|Albert Bigelow Paine

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

affordable, adjectiveaffordability, noun

Word 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