allowance

noun

An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.

Such a sum or portion granted to a family member or familiar, especially one's own child; pocket money for such a person.

Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.

Acknowledgment.

Abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.

(commerce) A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.

(horse racing) A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.

(engineering) A planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

(minting) A permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coins, owing to the difficulty in securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.

(obsolete) Approval; approbation.

(obsolete) License; indulgence.

verb

(transitive) To put upon a fixed allowance (especially of provisions and drink).

(transitive) To supply in a fixed and limited quantity.

Roots

adal- · Latin · to laudarelow- · Latin · praise -antia-ance · Latin · state, action

Synonyms for allowance

stipendn adjustmentn reimbursementn subsidyn emolumentn deductionn allotmentn remunerationn subventionn rebaten

Synonyms & related words for allowance

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of allowance — including stipend, adjustment, reimbursement, subsidy, emolument, deduction. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to allowance

Explore words related to allowance — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include quarterage, leeway, deducted, expenses, bonus, perquisites, deducting, salary. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for allowance

Common synonyms for allowance include stipend, adjustment, reimbursement, subsidy, emolument, deduction, allotment, remuneration — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does allowance come from?

The word allowance breaks down into 3 roots of Latin origin: al-, from Latin ad (“to”); low, from Latin laudare (“praise”); and -ance, from Latin -antia (“state, action”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.