allot

verb

al·​lot ə-ˈlät 

allotted; allotting

transitive verb

1

: to assign as a share or portion

allot 10 minutes for the speech

2

: to distribute by or as if by lot

allot seats to the press

allotter noun

Synonyms

• allocate
• assign
• distribute
• lot

Examples of allot in a Sentence

Each speaker will be allotted 15 minutes.

The newspaper will allot a full page to each of the three mayoral candidates.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even more unconventional is the way these portals are arrayed and allotted. —Brett Berk, Robb Report, 8 July 2025

First Qatar, then Senegal, Togo, Spain, Colombia, Brazil, China, Lebanon and the U.K. spoke for three minutes each, the time allotted to member states. —Isabelle Mayault, The Dial, 8 July 2025

As property taxpayers know, a percentage of our property taxes are sent from the county to the city’s general fund which in turn has allotted funds for trash collection. —U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2025

That concentration of bets, with more than 50% of wagers on those three areas, reflects how bettors also allotted their gambling during the regular season. —Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 15 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English alotten, borrowed from Anglo-French aloter, from a- (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + -loter, verbal derivative of lot "lot, portion, share," borrowed from Old Low Franconian *hlota-, going back to Germanic *hluta- — more at lot entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for allot

• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot
• distraught

Kids Definition

allot

verb

al·​lot ə-ˈlät 

allotted; allotting

: to assign as a share or portion

allot 10 minutes for the speech