allotment

American  

[uh-lot-muhnt] / əˈlɒt mənt /

noun

• allotments
  plural

1. the act of allotting.

2. a portion or thing allotted; a share granted.

   Synonyms:

   ration, lot, measure

3. (in U.S. military use) the portion of pay that an officer or enlisted person authorizes to be paid directly to another person, as a dependent, or an institution, as an insurance company.

4. British. a plot of land rented to a gardener.

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allotment British  

/ əˈlɒtmənt /

noun

1. the act of allotting; apportionment

2. a portion or amount allotted

3. a small piece of usually public land rented by an individual for cultivation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misallotment
  noun
• nonallotment
  noun
• reallotment
  noun
• proallotment
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• allotments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of allotment

First recorded in 1565–75; allot + -ment; compare French allotement

Explanation

Say you’re stranded on an island with a group of people and you divide your limited food supply. The portion you each receive is your share, also called your allotment. No fighting over the coconuts! The word allotment shows how languages intertwined through the ages. We can see the word's origins in several languages, including the Old English hlot, the Gothic hlauts, the Old High German hloz, and the Old French aloter. All referred to dividing something into groups, or “lots.” A "lot" refers to a group of things — stores refer to shipments of goods as being divided into “lots.” That idea of grouping will help you remember the meaning of allotment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

allotment allotments

In Islington, there are just 106 allotment plots available for around 17,000 households without garden access.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

At least 30,500 Londoners are on allotment waiting lists, with 16 boroughs closed to new applicants, according to a 2023 Freedom of Information request published by Greenpeace.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The Trump administration authorized the release of 172 million barrels—and if drawdowns continue at the current pace, that allotment could dry up in early September.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Because this money was allocated directly to the resident-funded landslide abatement districts, the city won’t directly benefit from this allotment.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

For months, Bigheart and Palmer and other members of the tribe negotiated with government officials over the terms of allotment.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

If reservoir levels continue to fall, it allows for larger mandatory water cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet per year in California, Arizona and Nevada — as much as 40% of the combined allotments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

It allows for harsh water cutbacks if deemed necessary, potentially requiring California, Arizona and Nevada to cut up to 3 million acre-feet per year — up to 40% of the combined allotments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

However, Criw Compostio run sessions for households who want to improve the composting they do at home or to improve composting at allotments.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Chip makers and cloud-computing purveyors have described the demand for their offerings as effectively limitless, with heads of the AI model companies bemoaning capacity constraints and tussling over chip allotments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

He dreamed of it in the way other soldiers dreamed of their hearths or allotments or old civilian jobs.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• allocation
• allowance
• appropriation
• quota
• ration