allowance
Americannoun
-
allowances
plural
-
the act of allowing.
-
an amount or share allotted or granted.
- Synonyms:
- allotment
-
a sum of money allotted or granted for a particular purpose, as for expenses.
Her allowance for the business trip was $200.
-
a sum of money allotted or granted to a person on a regular basis, as for personal or general living expenses.
The art student lived on an allowance of $600 a month.
When I was in first grade, my parents gave me an allowance of seven dollars a week.
- Synonyms:
- stipend
-
an addition or deduction based on an extenuating or qualifying circumstance.
an allowance for profit;
an allowance for depreciation.
-
acknowledgment; concession.
the allowance of a claim.
-
passive permission resulting from lack of interference; toleration.
the allowance of slavery.
- Synonyms:
- sufferance, permission, acceptance
- Antonyms:
- proscription, prohibition, interdiction
-
Machinery. a prescribed difference in dimensions of two closely fitting mating parts with regard to minimum clearance or maximum interference.
-
Coining. tolerance.
verb (used with object)
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to place on a fixed allowance, as of food or drink.
-
to allocate (supplies, rations, etc.) in fixed or regular amounts.
idioms
noun
-
an amount of something, esp money or food, given or allotted usually at regular intervals
-
a discount, as in consideration for something given in part exchange or to increase business; rebate
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(in Britain) an amount of a person's income that is not subject to a particular tax and is therefore deducted before his or her liability to taxation is assessed
-
a portion set aside to compensate for something or to cover special expenses
-
education a salary supplement given to a teacher who is appointed to undertake extra duties and responsibilities
-
admission; concession
-
the act of allowing; sanction; toleration
-
something allowed
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(usually foll by for)
-
to take mitigating circumstances into account in consideration (of)
-
to allow (for)
-
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of allowance
1350–1400; Middle English alouance < Middle French. See allow, -ance
Explanation
When you're a kid, you might earn an allowance or a sum of money in exchange for doing chores around the house. Your parents' allowance — or tolerance — of your silly behavior will depend on how strict they are. An allowance is a quantity of something that's allowed or permitted within a set of rules or for a particular purpose. This could be a weekly allowance you earn as a kid, or it could be the allowance for passengers on a flight to have two carry-on items. To make allowances for someone means to treat someone leniently, or to give them a break.
Vocabulary lists containing allowance
Christopher Columbus' Diary: The First Voyage
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 16
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Shiloh
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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:
Customers who get PIP and are classed as having limited mobility can lease a car for no cash upfront—they simply forgo about £320 a month of “enhanced mobility” allowance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
“While much remains to be seen, its clearest differentiator is its industry-leading output allowance of 1 million tokens,” Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a note to clients.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
When Matt Trivella of Boston was younger, returning a computer joystick that he bought with his allowance was so satisfying that the moment became a formative experience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Malik said that some support is available for cancer patients and their carers, such as financial support from charities, disability benefits and carer's allowance, but it can take time for families to receive benefits support.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
"Can I hire the Clue Crew to find the missing slippers? I'll give you all my allowance for this week."
From "The Cinderella Ballet Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #4" by Carolyn Keene
Lecornu has said the draft law, first presented before the protests, would allow these sums to be "taken from family allowances and housing benefits, while ensuring a minimum income is preserved".
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The pay packages also typically include car allowances and bonus opportunities, she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
This allows companies to decide whether they would rather reduce their emissions or pay for allowances to cover them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
In the current epidemic, driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine, those workers haven’t been paid their Ebola-response allowances for weeks, according to the WHO and local aid officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Dr. Wells’s replies revolve around small-town practicalities, insurance allowances, and the tried-and-true methods employed by Mercy Hospital.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
The first album I ever bought with my own money, allowanced saved up for weeks, was “Long Hard Climb.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2020
I also cut about three or four pounds off a flitch of bacon that hung in the chimney corner, nicely marked to prevent any being lost on account of my late allowanced state.
From The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence A Hero of the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns by George Nugent-Bankes
We found sugar scarce; butter scarce, and bread sharply allowanced in hotels and restaurants.
From The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me by William Allen White
The poor dog, thus allowanced, must have been sorry that he ever joined us.
From Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Parker Gillmore
On the other hand, they will not stand being allowanced for tea, sugar, butter, or anything of the kind, and as a rule they fare in exactly the same style as their masters.
From Town Life in Australia by Richard Ernest Nowell Twopeny
The Germans had been allowancing Recicourt to nine a day.
From The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me by William Allen White
And when the larger wood begins to grow scarce, what course does the peasant adopt?—The allowancing of individuals.
From The Place of Anarchism in Socialistic Evolution An Address Delivered in Paris by Henry Glasse
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
