allocate

verb

al·​lo·​cate ˈa-lə-ˌkāt 

allocated; allocating

transitive verb

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

allocatable

ˈa-lə-ˌkā-tə-bəl 

adjective

allocation

ˌa-lə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

allocator

ˈa-lə-ˌkā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• allot
• assign
• distribute

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

Antifa International sent the disbursement, which was allocated from its defense fund, on GiveSendGo. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2025

That is still conservative compared to Bridgewater Associates' founder and billionaire Ray Dalio's advise earlier this month of allocating as much as 15% of one's portfolio to gold. —Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025

Funds for the program are allocated monthly, and October benefits went out as usual despite the government shutdown. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025

The most recent state budget allocated about $310 million to the DWD for programming in 2025, and of that amount about $230 million is from the federal government. —Ricardo Torres, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin allocātus, past participle of allocāre "to place, stow, hire out, place on hire, allow, admit, credit," from Latin ad- ad- + locāre "to place, situate" — more at locate

First Known Use

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing allocate

• sub-allocate

Rhymes for allocate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

allocate

verb

al·​lo·​cate ˈal-ə-ˌkāt 

allocated; allocating

1

: to divide and distribute for a special reason or to particular persons or things

allocate funds among charities

2

: to set apart for a particular purpose

allocate materials for a project

allocation

ˌal-ə-ˈkā-shən 

noun