allow definition | Dictionary.com

al⋅low

[uh-lou]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to give permission to or for; permit: to allow a student to be absent; No swimming allowed.

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)

8.	to permit something to happen or to exist; admit (often fol. by of): to spend more than one's budget allows; a premise that allows of only one conclusion.

—Idiom

9.	allow for, to make concession or provision for: to allow for breakage.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME alowen < AF al(l)o(u)er to place, allot, allow, OF aloer to place < LL allocāre; see al-, locus; the older sense “approve, sanction” and ME sense “praise” prob. by taking the AF v. as repr. ML, L adlaudāre to praise; see ad-, laud

Synonyms:
1. Allow, let, permit imply granting or conceding the right of someone to do something. Allow and permit are often interchangeable, but permit is the more positive. Allow implies complete absence of an attempt, or even an intent, to hinder. Permit suggests formal or implied assent or authorization. Let is the familiar, conversational term for both allow and permit.

Antonyms:
1. forbid, prohibit.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To allow

al·low (ə-lou')

v. al·lowed, al·low·ing, al·lows

v. tr.

To let do or happen; permit: We allow smoking only in restricted areas.
To permit the presence of: No pets are allowed inside.
To permit to have: allow oneself a little treat.
To make provision for; assign: The schedule allows time for a coffee break.
To plan for in case of need: allow two inches in the fabric for shrinkage.
To grant as a discount or in exchange: allowed me 20 dollars on my old typewriter.
Chiefly Southern & Midland U.S.
1. To admit; concede: I allowed he was right.
2. To think; suppose: "We allow he's straight" (American Speech).
3. To assert; declare: Mother allowed that we'd better come in for dinner.

v. intr.

To offer a possibility; admit: The poem allows of several interpretations.
To take a possibility into account; make allowance: In calculating profit, retailers must allow for breakage and spoilage.

[Middle English allouen, to approve, permit, from Old French alouer, from Latin allaudāre, to praise (ad-, intensive pref.; see ad- + laudāre, to praise; see laud) and from Medieval Latin allocāre, to assign; see allocate.]
al·low'a·ble adj., al·low'a·bly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Allow

Al*low"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Allowing.] [OE. alouen, OF. alouer, aloer, aluer, F. allouer, fr. LL. allocare to admit as proved, to place, use; confused with OF. aloer, fr. L. allaudare to extol; ad + laudare to praise. See Local, and cf. Allocate, Laud.]

1. To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction. [Obs. or Archaic]

Ye allow the deeds of your fathers. --Luke xi. 48.

We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his life, approve his learning. --Fuller.

2. To like; to be suited or pleased with. [Obs.]

How allow you the model of these clothes? --Massinger.

3. To sanction; to invest; to intrust. [Obs.]

Thou shalt be . . . allowed with absolute power. --Shak.

4. To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have; as, to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest.

He was allowed about three hundred pounds a year. --Macaulay.

5. To own or acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion; as, to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow the truth of a proposition.

I allow, with Mrs. Grundy and most moralists, that Miss Newcome's conduct . . . was highly reprehensible. --Thackeray.

6. To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; esp. to abate or deduct; as, to allow a sum for leakage.

7. To grant license to; to permit; to consent to; as, to allow a son to be absent.

Syn: To allot; assign; bestow; concede; admit; permit; suffer; tolerate. See Permit.

Allow

Al*low"\, v. i. To admit; to concede; to make allowance or abatement.

Allowing still for the different ways of making it. --Addison.

To allow of, to permit; to admit. --Shak.

Language Translation for : allow

Spanish: permitir,

German: erlauben,

Japanese: 許す

More Translations »

allow

c.1300, from O.Fr. alouer "approve," from L. allaudare, compound of ad- "to" + laudare "to praise," confused and merged in O.Fr. with alouer "assign," from L. allocare (see allocate). From the first word came the sense "permission based on approval," from the second the meaning preserved in allowance "a limited portion or sum (usually of money or food)," first recorded 1440.

Main Entry: al·low
Pronunciation: &-'lau
Function: transitive verb
: to give approval of or permission for: as a : to grant fulfillment of <allowed her petition for relief> b : to decide in favor of <allow a deduction on a tax return> c : to permit to be presented <allows his claim> allow the cause of action> —al·low·abil·i·ty /&-"lau-&-'bi-l&-tE/ adverb —al·low·able /&-'lau-&-b&l/ adjective

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