allow

Verb

allow (third-person singular simple present allows, present participle allowing, simple past and past participle allowed)

1. (ditransitive) To let one have as a suitable share of something.
   • to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest
   • […] he needed a great deal of money, but his uncle only allowed him two thousand roubles a year, which was not enough, and for days together he would run about Moscow with his tongue out, as the saying is.2004 [1895], Constance, transl. Garnett, “Ariadne”, in The Darling: and Other Stories, translation of original by Anton Chekhov

   Synonyms:

   grant, admit, afford, yield, give, permit, allot, bestow, concede

2. (intransitive) To present something as possible or reasonable.
   • The event allows of only one interpretation.
3. (catenative, transitive) To permit, to give permission to.
   • I will allow my son to be absent.
   • With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what...1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii

   Synonyms:

   permit, let, grant licence to, consent, grant

4. To not bar or obstruct.
   • Although I don't consent to their holding such meetings, I will allow them for the time being.
   • Smoking (is) allowed only in designated areas.

   Synonyms:

   tolerate, suffer, permit, admit, concede

5. (transitive) To acknowledge, accept the truth of; to concede; to accede to an opinion; to say something one agrees on in the context of a larger disagreement or reluctance.
   • to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow an appeal
   • You must allow that disagreeing about politics puts a strain on a relationship.

   Synonyms:

   concede, accede, acquiesce

6. (transitive) To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct.
   • to allow a sum for leakage
   • How much will you allow on my old jalopy?
7. (transitive) To make an allowance, to take into account when making plans.
   • When calculating a budget for a construction project, always allow for contingencies.
8. (transitive) To render physically possible.
   • The inlet allowed a facility to bring the money in a boat secretly and at night to the very foot of the hill.1824, Washington Irving, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, in Tales of a Traveller
   • A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
9. (obsolete, transitive) To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction.
   • Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 11:48
   • We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his life, approve his learning.1842, Thomas Fuller, Church History of Britain
10. (obsolete) To sanction; to invest; to entrust.
    • Therefore so please thee to return with us,
      And of our Athens—thine and ours—to take
      The captainship, thou shalt be met with thanks,
      Allow'd with absolute power, and thy good name
      Live with authority. So soon we shall drive back
      Of Alcibiades the approaches wild,
      Who, like a boar too savage, doth...1623, William Shakespeare, The Life of Timon of Athens
11. (obsolete, transitive) To like; to be suited or pleased with.
    • How allow you the model of these clothes?1632, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, The Fatal Dowry, act 4, scene 1
12. (transitive) To decide (a request) in favour of the party who raised it; to grant victory to a party regarding (a request).
    • to allow an objection
    • to allow an appeal
13. (Multicultural-London-English, transitive) To forgo bothering with, to let slide.
    • Easy on violence, now I doubt it
      I could’ve banged this face but allowed it2021 November 3, “Who's My man?”, Starzzy #MostHated (lyrics), 0:30