plural allowances
1
a
: an amount of money that is given to someone regularly or for a specific purpose
a monthly allowance for household expenses
a clothing allowance
b
chiefly US
: a small amount of money that is regularly given to children by their parents
Each of their children gets a weekly allowance of five dollars.
2
a
: an amount of something (such as time) that is allowed or available
The schedule provides a generous allowance of time for sightseeing. [=provides a generous amount of time for sightseeing]
b
: an amount that is regarded as acceptable or desirable
the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C
c
: an amount that is subtracted from the price of something
When we bought our new car we got a trade-in allowance of $2,000 on our old car. [=the price of our new car was reduced by $2,000 because we traded in our old car]
d
British
: an amount of your earnings that you do not have to pay taxes on
the tax allowance for married couples
3
a
: the act of thinking about or including something when you make a plan, calculation, etc.
When you're comparing costs from different decades, you need to make allowance for inflation. [=you need to allow for inflation]
His theory makes no allowance for [=does not allow for] the possibility that the disease may be genetic.
b
: the act of regarding bad behavior or a mistake as less serious or bad because of some special situation or condition
She performed poorly, but we should make some allowance for her inexperience. = Some allowance should be made for her inexperience. [=because she is inexperienced, we should not blame her too much for performing poorly]
They performed poorly, but allowances should be made for their inexperience.
4
formal
: the act of allowing something
The lawyer protested the judge's allowance of the evidence.
Cite this Entry
“Allowance.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/allowance. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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