allow

3 : to give an opportunity : permit She worked on the project here and there as time allowed. This should take 5 minutes for 1 strength-cardio circuit combo. If time allows, repeat once more for a 10-minute workout or twice more for a 15-minute workout.— Tracy Teare This plan is being implemented in phases as funding allows. — Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Iowa) Courier

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Examples of allow in a Sentence

a religion that does not allow divorce They don't allow smoking in this hotel. I want to change my schedule, but my boss won't allow it. My boss wouldn't allow me to change my schedule. They don't allow people to smoke in this hotel. Women were not allowed in the club. The hospital doesn't allow visitors after 8 p.m. Her schedule doesn't allow her any time to run errands. The system allows you to transfer data easily from one computer to another. Occasional gaps allow passage through the mountains.

Recent Examples on the Web But India will not allow the export of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine for several months, Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s CEO, said Sunday. — Aniruddha Ghosal And Sheikh Saaliq, The Christian Science Monitor, "Why India is banning the export of newly approved vaccines," 3 Jan. 2021 That effort was recently rejected, when the bankruptcy court found that the law does not allow debtors to discharge debts stemming from their own malicious actions. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, "‘Justified’ or ‘despicable’? The twisted tale of an LAPD excessive force case," 3 Jan. 2021 Mississippi law does not allow contracts for public employees stretching longer than four years, so Kiffin’s new deal would likely only include a one-year extension. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "Lane Kiffin agrees to new contract at Ole Miss," 2 Jan. 2021 The determined Cavs didn’t allow frustration to get the better of them. — Chris Fedor, cleveland, "Cleveland Cavaliers show identity, rally in the second half to stun Atlanta Hawks, 96-91.," 2 Jan. 2021 The secondary doesn’t allow many deep plays and ISU doesn’t throw many. — oregonlive, "Oregon Ducks vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Fiesta Bowl preview, odds, time, TV channel, how to watch live stream online," 2 Jan. 2021 The cemetery did not allow gatherings, so on a sweltering morning in early July, five of us said a few words over her in the loading bay behind the crematory, before her body went inside. — John Leland, New York Times, "How the Oldest Old Can Endure Even This," 1 Jan. 2021 When the state permitted salons to reopen in May, Tarrant didn’t allow more than four clients in the room at a time. — Dallas News, "‘Journey fulfilled:’ Earnestine’s Beauty Shop closes after 41 years in South Dallas," 1 Jan. 2021 Sophomore center Sincere Haynesworth did not allow a sack, according to Pro Football Focus. — G Smith, NOLA.com, "Tulane football 2020: Grading the Green Wave position by position," 31 Dec. 2020

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

History and Etymology for allow

Middle English alowen, allowen "to commend, approve of, legally recognize, permit, take into account, compensate," borrowed from Anglo-French aluer, aloer "to place, allot, commend, accept as legally valid, permit, take into account, assess," probably in part from a- (going back to Latin ad- ad-) + loer "to praise," going back to Latin laudāre; in part going back to Medieval Latin allocāre "to place, admit, credit" — more at laud entry 2, allocate