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allot

[uh-lot]
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verb (used with object), al·lot·ted, al·lot·ting.
  1. to divide or distribute by share or portion; distribute or parcel out; apportion: to allot the available farmland among the settlers.
  2. to appropriate for a special purpose: to allot money for a park.
  3. to assign as a portion; set apart; dedicate.
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Origin of allot

1425–75; earlier alot, late Middle English alotten < Middle French aloter, equivalent to a- a-5 + lot lot (< Germanic) + -er infinitive suffix
Related formsal·lot·ta·ble, adjectiveal·lot·ter, nounmis·al·lot, verb (used with object), mis·al·lot·ted, mis·al·lot·ting.pre·al·lot, verb (used with object), pre·al·lot·ted, pre·al·lot·ting.re·al·lot, verb (used with object), re·al·lot·ted, re·al·lot·ting.un·al·lot·ted, adjectivewell-al·lot·ted, adjective
Can be confuseda lot allot

Synonym study

1. See assign.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for allot

Historical Examples

  • Of those fifteen hundred, it is proposed to allot three hundred to each of us.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • He did not allot to it more than twenty lines out of a full column.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • And are you content that I should allot you a position in the wall?

  • May the Most High ever allot to thee and to me tidings as joyful!

    The Bbur-nma in English

    Babur, Emperor of Hindustan

  • I feel that mine will never change, whatever fortune may allot me.

    The Battle of The Press

    Theophila Carlile Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for allot

allot

verb -lots, -lotting or -lotted (tr)
  1. to assign or distribute (shares, etc)
  2. to designate for a particular purposemoney was allotted to cover expenses
  3. (foll by to) apportionwe allotted two hours to the case
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Word Origin

C16: from Old French aloter, from lot portion, lot
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

Word Origin and History for allot

v.

late 15c., from Old French aloter (Modern French allotir) "to divide by lots, to divide into lots," from à "to" (see ad-) + loter "lot," a word of Germanic origin (cf. Gothic hlauts, Old High German hloz, Old English hlot; see lot). Related: Allotted; allotting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper