allocate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to assign or allot for a particular purpose
-
a less common word for locate
Related Words
See assign.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of allocate
First recorded in 1630–40; from Medieval Latin allocātus (past participle of allocāre ), equivalent to al- al- + loc(us) “place” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To allocate is to set aside a certain amount of money for an expense. You usually hear about the government allocating funds for education or the military, but you may personally allocate some of your allowance to buying comic books. Aside from money, a common thing to allocate is time: "The old woman in the shoe had so many children she could only allocate 2.7 minutes per day to talk to each one individually." Resources are also often allocated. Teachers, for example, are continuously allocating their year's supply of resources so they don't run out of glue sticks and paper before the end of the school year.
Vocabulary lists containing allocate
Grade 9, List 6
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Nothing But the Truth
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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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.
Watt says he will allocate nearly 20% of shares in his new beer company, called Second Best, to people who lost money after investing in Brewdog's Equity for Punks scheme.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
The union also wanted Samsung to abolish a bonus cap of 50% of annual salaries and allocate 15% of annual operating profit to a bonus pool distributed to workers.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
That includes “how agencies allocate resources, the types of cases emphasized, how aggressively certain theories are pursued, and how the government frames its enforcement mission publicly.”
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
The union wants the company to allocate 15% of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The financial markets paid a lot of people extremely well for narrow expertise and a few people, poorly, for the big, global views you needed to have if you were to allocate capital across markets.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
