allowance
the act of allowing.
an amount or share allotted or granted.
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.
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.
Machinery. a prescribed difference in dimensions of two closely fitting mating parts with regard to minimum clearance or maximum interference.: Compare tolerance (def. 6a).
Coining. tolerance (def. 7).
to place on a fixed allowance, as of food or drink.
to allocate (supplies, rations, etc.) in fixed or regular amounts.
Idioms about allowance
make allowance / allowances (for),
to take mitigating factors or circumstances into consideration.
to pardon; excuse.
to reserve time, money, etc.; allow for: Make allowance for souvenirs on the return trip.
Origin of allowance
1Other words for allowance
Opposites for allowance
Other words from allowance
- pre·al·low·ance, noun
- su·per·al·low·ance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use allowance in a sentence
It's much easier to cut child allowances, much more satisfying for Lapid and many of his voters.
Lapid's Budget: Let the Outsiders' Children Go Hungry | Gershom Gorenberg | May 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe allowances and gifts, which were once a happy bonus of my adventures, were now what was keeping me there.
Sugar Daddy Dating Sites: Helen Croydon on Her Guilty Fantasy | Helen Croydon | May 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYou can argue that in 2005, those allowances weren't big enough--hell, I think at this point, it's not an argument, but a fact.
Watching the early Bond movies today is an exercise in making allowances.
James Bond Movies & the Beatles Still Pop-Culture Icons 50 Years After Debuts | Malcolm Jones | October 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTMaking allowances for the movie, it got the general impression right.
They are prepared to make allowances for lack of shell; lack of guns; lack of high explosives.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonOld and new measurements, tonnage, time allowances and movable ballast, are all a sealed book to me.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) | Charles James WillsAll sorts of allowances are made for the illusions of youth; and none, or almost none, for the disenchantments of age.
The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis StevensonThe margin of uncertainty which must be met by empirical allowances on the side of safety has been steadily diminished.
The people receive allowances of corn, and the rich support the needy, according to an ancient usage.
British Dictionary definitions for allowance
/ (əˈlaʊəns) /
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
(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
British 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
make allowances or make allowance (usually foll by for)
to take mitigating circumstances into account in consideration (of)
to allow (for)
(tr) to supply (something) in limited amounts
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with allowance
see make allowance.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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