afford
Formsaffords, affording, afforded
- 1To be able to bear the cost of something (in money, time, or risk) without serious harm.
Few families could afford such a large house in the city center.
The company can afford to take a few risks while sales remain strong.
UsageUsually with can, could or be able to: we can't afford it; afford to buy (not
incorrect: afford buying). - 2To provide or supply something, especially as a natural result, product, or opportunity.
The new role affords her considerable freedom to set her own schedule.
Such open plains afford little shelter from the wind.
UsageCan take the receiver as a second object, also in the passive: it affords her freedom; she was afforded a chance.
Note
What gets afforded here is usually a benefit rather than goods: a good life affords consolation, open plains afford little shelter, and the steps of an inn afford a precarious refuge in the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897). No cost or spending is involved, unlike the "able to pay" meaning.
- 3To offer or supply something, as in a sale, at a price that yields a profit or avoids too great a loss.
Note
A seller's word, now obsolete: the merchant affords goods at a price, as in 'Alfred affords his goods cheaper than Bantock.' The point of view is the reverse of the everyday 'can pay for' meaning, where the buyer is the one who can afford. In older prose, a phrase like afford it cheaper is about pricing, not purchasing power. A modern reader can easily take it the wrong way round.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Afford had an obsolete seller-oriented sense meaning to supply goods profitably or without excessive loss. en.wiktionary.org
- The example sentence appears with exactly this wording. en.wiktionary.org
- In this historical sense, affording something cheaper concerns supplying it at a lower price. en.wiktionary.org
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English afforthen, from Old English forþian, ġeforþian ("to further, accomplish, afford"), going back to Proto-Germanic *furþōną, from *furþą ("forth, forward"): essentially a- plus forth. It is cognate with Old Norse forða ("to forward oneself, escape danger") and Icelandic forða ("to save, rescue").
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Afford descends through Middle English and Old English from the stated Proto-Germanic forms, with the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org
- The word is etymologically equivalent to a- plus forth. en.wiktionary.org
- The stated Old Norse and Icelandic forms are cognates and have the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org