allocation

American  

[al-uh-key-shuhn] / ˌæl əˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of allocating; apportionment.

2. the state of being allocated.

3. the share or portion allocated.

4. Accounting. a system of dividing expenses and incomes among the various branches, departments, etc., of a business.

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allocation British  

/ ˌæləˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of allocating or the state of being allocated

2. a part that is allocated; share

3. accounting a system of dividing overhead expenses between the various departments of a business

4. social welfare (in a Social Services Department) the process of assigning referrals to individual workers, thus changing their status to cases

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Other Word Forms

• allocative adjective
• deallocation noun
• reallocation noun
• suballocation noun

Etymology

Origin of allocation

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin allocātiōn- (stem of allocātiō ), equivalent to allocāt(us) ( allocate ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

If it is your job to decide how much money goes to three charities, you are in charge of the allocation of your donation. The money each charity gets is their allocation. You'll often hear this word used when talking about things like government funding. People often debate the allocation of federal funds. Should tax dollars be used for the military, or for domestic needs like education and healthcare? These decisions are made by Congress and the President, who work together to create a budget to allocate funds appropriately.

Example Sentences

That’s a small fraction of what’s needed, MSF said in its letter, given that “this allocation is capped, demand far exceeds supply, and every dose directed to MSF is a dose unavailable to another program.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

It has two pillars: it is applied after all other considerations about domestic and European cup winners; it always provides one additional place to the overall allocation.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Steve Goldstein explained how a 50/50 allocation between two exchange-traded funds achieved double-digit returns in six of the past seven years.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Snapchat Board Chair Michael Lynton said the company welcomes shareholder input and regularly discusses strategy, capital allocation, and governance with shareholders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

None had their complete allocation of walls and ceilings.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Related Words

• allotment
• appropriation
• quota
• share