# allowance

Pronunciation: say "uh-LOW-uhns" /əˈlaʊəns/

## Noun

1. A regular sum of money given to a family member, especially one's own child, to spend as they choose.
   - Simple: Money parents regularly give a child to spend as they choose.
   - _Each Saturday the children received their weekly allowance from their father._
   - _He spent his entire monthly allowance on video games within a few days._
2. An amount, portion, or share granted to someone, such as a reimbursement or a sum given for a specific purpose.
   - Simple: Money or a share given to someone for a particular purpose.
   - _New employees receive a relocation allowance to cover moving costs._
   - _The charity provides a small food allowance to families in need._
3. A reduction or deduction made by taking mitigating circumstances into account.
   - Simple: A reduction made when you take someone's hard situation into account.
   - _The judge made allowance for the defendant's difficult upbringing._
   - _Even after allowance for inflation, prices have risen sharply this decade._
4. The act of permitting, granting, or conceding something.
   - Simple: The act of letting something happen or be done.
   - _The new policy took effect with the allowance of senior management._
   - _Photography is permitted only by special allowance of the museum._
5. In engineering, a deliberate difference built into a design between a part's exact size and its nominal or theoretical size.
   - Simple: A small planned difference between the exact size of a part and its ideal size.
   - _The drawing specified an allowance of half a millimeter between the piston and cylinder._
   - _Designers calculate the allowance before deciding on machining tolerances._
6. A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount the weight of the container or to follow a country's custom.
   - Simple: An amount taken off the total weight of goods, such as for the weight of the container.
   - _Customs officials applied a standard allowance for the barrels before charging duty._
   - _The buyer demanded an allowance for the heavy sacks holding the grain._
7. The act of acknowledging or admitting something.
   - Simple: The act of accepting that something is true.
   - _The report includes an allowance of past errors by the committee._
   - _There was a grudging allowance of his rival's genuine talent._
10. A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse is required to carry.
   - Simple: In horse racing, a cut in the weight a horse must carry.
   - _An apprentice rider's allowance let the horse carry several pounds less than its rivals._
   - _The mare's allowance reduced the weight she carried in the handicap._
11. A permissible deviation in the weight and fineness of coins from the standard prescribed by law.
   - Simple: In coin-making, a small allowed difference from the legal standard of weight or purity.
   - _Inspectors checked that each batch fell inside the legal allowance for fineness._
   - _The coins passed because their weight stayed within the permitted allowance._

## Verb

8. To supply something in a fixed and limited quantity.
   - Simple: To give out only a set, limited amount of something.
   - _Throughout the drought, tap water was allowanced to a few gallons per household each day._
   - _When the shipment was delayed, the clinic had to allowance its remaining vaccine doses._
9. To put someone on a fixed allowance, especially of food and drink.
   - Simple: To place someone on a set, limited amount of supplies.
   - _The commander chose to allowance the troops once rations grew scarce._
   - _During the drought, officials allowance every household in the town._

## Noun

12. Approval or favorable regard given to someone or something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Approval or a good opinion of someone or something.
13. License or indulgence; the latitude permitted to someone to act freely. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Freedom or permission to do as one likes.

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English "allouance," from Old French "alouance." It is formed from "allow" plus the suffix "-ance."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/allowance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).