afford
Americanverb (used with object)
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to be able to do, manage, or bear without serious consequence or adverse effect.
The country can't afford another drought.
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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.
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to be able to give or spare.
He can't afford the loss of a day.
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The transaction afforded him a good profit.
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to be capable of yielding or providing.
The records afford no explanation.
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to give or confer upon.
to afford great pleasure to someone.
verb
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to be able to do or spare something, esp without incurring financial difficulties or without risk of undesirable consequences
we 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
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to give, yield, or supply
the meeting afforded much useful information
Other Word Forms
- affordability noun
- affordable adjective
Etymology
Origin of afford
First recorded before 1050; Middle English aforthen, iforthen, Old English geforthian “to further, accomplish,” equivalent to ge- y- + forth forth + -ian infinitive suffix
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.
They can now afford extras such as a school trip to Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
Saying you can’t afford something when that isn’t true, for example, can unnecessarily harm a child’s relationship with money in the long-term.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
To raise the prices even higher at the gas station, he’d have to buy new pumps, an investment he’s not sure he could afford now.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Having just raised $122 billion in new funds at a valuation of $852 billion, OpenAI can probably afford a few speculative gambles.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
She told me that we can’t afford to be controlled by our feelings—that we needed to be cool, calm, and collected.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
