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allocate

[al-uh-keyt]
See more synonyms for allocate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), al·lo·cat·ed, al·lo·cat·ing.
  1. to set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot: to allocate funds for new projects.
  2. to fix the place of; locate.
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Origin of allocate

1630–40; < Medieval Latin allocātus (past participle of allocāre), equivalent to al- al- + loc(us) place + -ātus -ate1
Related formsal·lo·ca·tor, nounde·al·lo·cate, verb (used with object), de·al·lo·cat·ed, de·al·lo·cat·ing.re·al·lo·cate, verb (used with object), re·al·lo·cat·ed, re·al·lo·cat·ing.un·al·lo·cat·ed, adjective

Synonym study

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

Examples from the Web for re-allocate

Historical Examples

  • They re-allocate resources from (potentially or actually) productive agents to themselves.

    After the Rain

    Sam Vaknin

British Dictionary definitions for re-allocate

allocate

verb (tr)
  1. to assign or allot for a particular purpose
  2. a less common word for locate (def. 2)
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Derived Formsallocatable, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Medieval Latin allocāre, from Latin locāre to place, from locus a place
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 re-allocate

v.

also reallocate, by 1868, from re- + allocate. Related: Reallocated; reallocating.

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allocate

v.

1630s, from verbal used of adjective allocate (mid-15c. in legal use), from Medieval Latin allocate (the common first word of writs authorizing payment), imperative plural of allocare "allocate," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + locare "to place" (see locate). Related: Allocated; allocating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper