allocate
Americanverb (used with object)
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allocates,
present (3rd person singular)
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allocated,
past participle, past
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allocating
present participle
verb
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to assign or allot for a particular purpose
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a less common word for locate
Synonym Usage
See assign.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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allocatornoun
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deallocateverb (used with object)
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reallocateverb (used with object)
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allocatableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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allocatesimple
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allocatessimple
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have allocatedperfect
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has allocatedperfect
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am allocatingprogressive
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are allocatingprogressive
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is allocatingprogressive
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have been allocatingperfect progressive
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has been allocatingperfect progressive
Past
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allocatedsimple
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had allocatedperfect
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was allocatingprogressive
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were allocatingprogressive
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had been allocatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of allocate
First recorded in 1630–40; from Medieval Latin allocātus (past participle of allocāre ), equivalent to al- al- + loc(us) “place” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To allocate is to set aside a certain amount of money for an expense. You usually hear about the government allocating funds for education or the military, but you may personally allocate some of your allowance to buying comic books. Aside from money, a common thing to allocate is time: "The old woman in the shoe had so many children she could only allocate 2.7 minutes per day to talk to each one individually." Resources are also often allocated. Teachers, for example, are continuously allocating their year's supply of resources so they don't run out of glue sticks and paper before the end of the school year.
Vocabulary lists containing allocate
Grade 9, List 6
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Nothing But the Truth
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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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:
He has also established a "No 10 North" base in Manchester, and announced plans to allocate English city mayors a share of income tax in exchange for grant funding from central government.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The solution is for companies to allocate potential loss before a lawsuit does it for them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
“At the same time, we are sharpening our strategic focus, evaluating where we allocate capital and resources and making disciplined choices that we believe will strengthen Tractor Supply.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
How much of your portfolio you want to allocate to momentum is going to be a judgment call.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
He looked at his little sister and tried to allocate blame so it all fell on her, but he couldn’t.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
They include the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, the growth in commercial and broadcast revenue Fifa has overseen, and a programme which allocates millions in funding directly to member countries every year.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Jane Street’s investment in Situational Awareness is particularly notable because the firm rarely allocates capital to outside money managers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
The district also proposed increasing class sizes while it allocates 20% of its total budget to outside contracts, significantly higher than surrounding districts and the state average, the association said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
This framework allocates 50% of your income to needs, like housing; 30% to wants, like vacations and streaming services; and 20% to savings and debt repayment, including retirement contributions and emergency funds.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
The San Francisco record is very precise, since it allocates each neophyte to his rancheria, or at least to the local region of his origin.
From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Cook, Sherburne Friend
The remaining amount is allocated across programs for "awareness and prevention," "screening and assessment," "referral, linkage, and coordination," implementation and evaluation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Despite that, “ongoing” or recurring funds collected via the measure are allocated to county hospitals and private hospitals with trauma centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
He also suggests multiple equivalent question papers allocated randomly, or localised papers, so that a breach in one location does not compromise an entire national examination.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The iPhone maker also claims that Micron isn’t reinvesting fast enough to increase supply, and that the production capacity it is adding will be disproportionately allocated to AI customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Those who contracted MDR were left to die—as humanely as possible, because the foundation provided money for hospice care—but why, Farmer wondered, couldn’t some money be allocated to MDR?
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
And it’s also true that a higher correlation does reduce the diversification benefits of allocating a portion of an erstwhile all-stock portfolio to bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
In terms of allocating over time, an equitable plan would probably aim to keep the burden associated with the missing trust fund steady across generations.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Newsom signed Senate Bill 168 into law this month allocating $135 million for the MyFirstEV program; the funding will be matched by 13 major automakers combined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Stock markets perform an essential task in modern economies by allocating capital where it’s needed, and reducing it where it isn’t.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
He hated allocating jobs, he wished he never had to depend on other people to perform some of the services necessary in his work.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
