allocate

verb

al·lo·cate | \ ˈa-lə-ˌkāt

allocated; allocating

Definition of allocate

1 : to apportion for a specific purpose or to particular persons or things : distribute allocate tasks among human and automated components

2 : to set apart or earmark : designate allocate a section of the building for special research purposes

Other Words from allocate Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about allocate

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Other Words from allocate

allocatable \ -ˌkā-tə-bəl

\ adjective

allocation \ ˌa-lə-ˈkā-shən

\ noun

allocator \ ˈa-lə-ˌkā-tər

\ noun

Examples of allocate in a Sentence

Money from the sale of the house was allocated to each of the children. We need to determine the best way to allocate our resources. Have enough funds been allocated to finance the project?

Recent Examples on the Web

The nine major federal departments affected by the shutdown committed to spend $61 billion for contracted services in fiscal year 2018, according to public data, roughly 11% of the total $544 billion allocated for such work. — Gabriel T. Rubin, WSJ, "Shutdown Hits Industries Nationwide," 21 Jan. 2019 Roem has focused on transportation issues in her district and advocated for infrastructure dollars to be better allocated across the state. — Mattie Kahn, Glamour, "9 Times Being a Woman in 2018 Was Genuinely Powerful," 30 Oct. 2018 Where the rest of the budget will be allocated has not yet been determined. — Sonja Peteranderl, The Verge, "Bavaria’s space program shot to viral fame — but it may be in trouble," 20 Oct. 2018 Less than $5 million was allocated to the ministry last year, enough to cover two regional trips for national teams, the government said. — Sam Mednick, Fox News, "War-torn South Sudan launches youth rugby league for peace," 28 Sep. 2018 And what about the money that’s been allocated to work on this? — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Full Q&A: Senator Ron Wyden on Recode Decode," 22 Aug. 2018 The American Legion, one of the country's biggest veteran groups, also released a statement on Thursday, saying the funds should be allocated to the Department of Veteran Affairs, the troops, and their families instead. — Isabella Gomez, Teen Vogue, "The Mayor of Washington, D.C., Is Taking Credit for Getting Trump's Military Parade Cancelled," 17 Aug. 2018 Carvalho suggests that 80 percent to 90 percent of the funds raised should be allocated for teacher compensation, with the rest spent for school security enhancements and those extra programs should the board vote to keep that language. — Colleen Wright, miamiherald, "Vague ballot language confuses Miami-Dade schools’ bid to raise taxes to pay teachers," 12 July 2018 The $300 million is on top of about $1 billion already allocated to state freeways and close to $1.4 billion being distributed to local road agencies for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. — Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's crumbling roads get $300M extra in state budget," 12 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'allocate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.