allow
Americanverb (used with object)
-
allows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
allowed,
past participle, past
-
allowing
present participle
-
to give permission to or for; permit.
to allow a student to be absent;
No swimming allowed.
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to let have; give as one's share; grant as one's right.
to allow a person $100 for expenses.
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to permit by neglect, oversight, or the like.
to allow a door to remain open.
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to admit; acknowledge; concede.
to allow a claim.
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to take into consideration, as by adding or subtracting; set apart.
to allow an hour for changing trains.
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Older Use. to say; think.
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Archaic. to approve; sanction.
verb (used without object)
-
allows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
allowed,
past participle, past
-
allowing
present participle
idioms
verb
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(tr) to permit (to do something); let
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(tr) to set aside
five hours were allowed to do the job
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(tr) to let enter or stay
they don't allow dogs
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(tr) to acknowledge or concede (a point, claim, etc)
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(tr) to let have; grant
he was allowed few visitors
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to take into account
allow for delays
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to permit; admit
a question that allows of only one reply
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dialect (tr; may take a clause as object) to assert; maintain
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archaic (tr) to approve; accept
Usage
What are other ways to say allow? To allow something is to give permission for it. How is allow different from permit and let? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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allowsimple
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allowssimple
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have allowedperfect
-
has allowedperfect
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am allowingprogressive
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are allowingprogressive
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is allowingprogressive
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have been allowingperfect progressive
-
has been allowingperfect progressive
Past
-
allowedsimple
-
had allowedperfect
-
was allowingprogressive
-
were allowingprogressive
-
had been allowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of allow
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English alowen, from Anglo-French al(l)o(u)er “to place, allot, allow,” Old French aloer “to place,” from Late Latin allocāre; see al-, locus; the older sense “approve, sanction” and Middle English sense “praise” probably by taking the Anglo-French verb as representing Medieval Latin, Latin adlaudāre “to praise”; see ad-, laud
Explanation
If you allow your best friend to read your diary, it means you've given him permission to do it. The verb allow means to let someone do something. You can allow casually, like when you allow your friend to bite off a few pieces from your candy necklace, or more officially, as when a city government decides to allow dogs to be brought into restaurants. Allow can also be used to mean "admit the truth of," so you could say, "Fine, I'll allow that dogs aren't any dirtier than many people, but it's still strange seeing them in restaurants."
Vocabulary lists containing allow
Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Sporting Spirit"
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Workshop 3, Part 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Those companies don’t allow changes to how their models operate, giving them tighter control over how they respond to queries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
But the route is only accessible during the time of the year when the ice is melted enough to allow transits without icebreakers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
An online fund, external has been set up by the council to allow people to donate to those affected.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The company’s lighter flash models power AI Overviews and AI Mode, which allow search-engine users to perform complex queries in natural language — far surpassing the keyword matching and ranking techniques of previous generations.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Amid the sorrow of our departure, I allow myself to savor its beauty and dare to imagine for a moment that I am an explorer going in search of new lands.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
States also claim Meta committed unfair business practices by letting users create multiple Instagram accounts, which they say allows kids to circumvent parental controls and rules barring children under age of 13 from creating accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
It allows them to live what she refers to as “a perfect day,” but also to connect with their community offline and in person.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The city allows Rohl to enjoy some anonymity and serenity after his whirlwind year, at least for now.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
LVMvis includes an RGB HiPS emission-line map that allows users to explore the distribution and structure of glowing gas across the sky.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
“El Dio allows us these moments of happiness to lift our spirits, even as we suffer through the sorrow of departure.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Insurance companies, which invest policyholder premiums in bonds and other debt investments, are allowed to lend to so-called affiliated entities—those with ties to the insurer’s owner—as long as the loans are disclosed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
But the new plan, issued in 2021, favored the ranchers, extending them 20-year leases, and allowed for the killing of elk if they interfered with cattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The letter also claimed the three pilots had not been allowed to meet or contact their families.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Comparing the different groups allowed the team to pinpoint where each treatment was acting.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
He hadn’t allowed me to so much as cross the threshold since Mrs. Kuen’s visit.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Hawaiian, United and Southwest offered travel waivers allowing customers to change affected flights at no extra cost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The researchers believe the results of the three studies could eventually lead to changes in heart failure guidelines, potentially allowing many more patients to receive digoxin.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Climate change has had some advantages for Germany's winegrowers over the years, allowing them to experiment with grape varieties better suited to warmer climes and making cultivation possible in new areas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
They are also a big reason Road Scholar began its private-plane trips in 2019, allowing people to see several of the world’s wonders in one trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
This early form of air-conditioning was closed off when the three went to sleep, but was later opened by a servant, allowing cool, damp air from the caves to enter the room.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
