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 of allot

• 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

For example, the original plan by the department’s consultant assumed that the park would have access to a sewer main and allotted about $76,000 for a routine sewer connection. — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026

The first is the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) Acquisition Prize, which will allot $20,000 at each edition of the Armory Show toward acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection and for the Green Family Foundation Caribbean Cultural Institute. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026

The retailer expanded the space allotted for Asian food products by about 75% and beefed up offerings of noodles and snacks in the category after sales rose more than 25% in the last year. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026

Aggressive plants can outcompete other plants for resources and outgrow the space allotted to them. — Dr. Lauren Kurtz, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026

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