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View synonyms for

allow

[ uh-lou ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to give permission to or for; permit:

    to allow a student to be absent;

    No swimming allowed.

    Antonyms: ,

  2. to let have; give as one's share; grant as one's right:

    to allow a person $100 for expenses.

  3. to permit by neglect, oversight, or the like:

    to allow a door to remain open.

  4. to admit; acknowledge; concede:

    to allow a claim.

  5. to take into consideration, as by adding or subtracting; set apart:

    to allow an hour for changing trains.

  6. Older Use. to say; think.
  7. Archaic. to approve; sanction.


verb (used without object)

  1. to permit something to happen or to exist; admit (often followed by of ): a premise that allows of only one conclusion.

    to spend more than one's budget allows;

    a premise that allows of only one conclusion.

allow

/ əˈʊ /

verb

  1. tr to permit (to do something); let
  2. tr to set aside

    five hours were allowed to do the job

  3. tr to let enter or stay

    they don't allow dogs

  4. tr to acknowledge or concede (a point, claim, etc)
  5. tr to let have; grant

    he was allowed few visitors

  6. intrfoll byfor to take into account

    allow for delays

  7. introften foll byof to permit; admit

    a question that allows of only one reply

  8. dialect.
    tr; may take a clause as object to assert; maintain
  9. archaic.
    tr to approve; accept
“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
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Other Word Forms

  • a·Ƿ verb (used with object)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of allow1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English alowen, from Anglo-French al(l)o(u)er “to place, allot, allow,” Old French aloer “to place,” from Late Latin dz; al-, locus; the older sense “approve, sanction” and Middle English sense “praise” probably by taking the Anglo-French verb as representing Medieval Latin, Latin ܻ “to praise”; ad-, laud
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Word History and Origins

Origin of allow1

C14: from Old French alouer, from Late Latin ܻ to extol, influenced by Medieval Latin dz to assign, allocate
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. allow for, to make concession or provision for:

    to allow for breakage.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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The Oilers, desperate to get back in the series, benched goalie Stuart Skinner, who allowed 11 goals in the first two games, in favor of Calvin Pickard.

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“But then I said, ‘Father, I’m going to trust you that you’re going to allow me to maintain this.’”

From

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When To Use

are other ways to say allow?

To allow something is to give permission for it. How is allow different from permit and let? Learn more on .

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.

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