allow for

phrasal verb

allowed for; allowing for; allows for

1

: to think about or plan for (something that will or might happen in the future)

When purchasing property, the company should allow for possible future growth/expansion.

2

: to consider (something) when one makes a calculation

The total distance, allowing for detours, is about 10 miles.

If you allow for inflation, he's actually earning less money now than he was 10 years ago.

3

: to make (something) possible

The design of the system allows for easy upgrades.

Examples of allow for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlicensed child care sites can be a hazard to kids and allow for poor practices to persist out of sight of state inspectors, like insufficient staff attending to kids or lacking baby gates and smoke detectors, said Gay. —Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 15 Nov. 2025

In densely populated zones, the threshold is lowered to trigger alerts sooner, while highways and major urban roads allow for a higher threshold. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 15 Nov. 2025

Head to bed a bit earlier the next night to allow for extra sleep time. —Jonathan Carone, Parents, 15 Nov. 2025

Some telework may be allowed for California residents, depending on the role’s needs, according to CalCareers. —Sacbee.com, 15 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for allow for

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore