allowancenoun
uk/əˈlaʊ.əns/us/əˈlaʊ.əns/allowance noun (AMOUNT GIVEN)
C1 [ C ] money that you are given regularly, especially to pay for a particular thing:
The perks of the job include a company pension and a generous travel allowance.
I couldn't have managed at college if I hadn't had an allowance from my parents.
[ C ] an amount of something that you are allowed:
The baggage/luggage allowance for most flights is 20 kilos.
[ C ] mainly US UK usually pocket money an amount of money that parents regularly give to their child to spend as they choose
More examples
- Gary's been exploiting the system, getting both a student allowance and unemployment benefit.
- A family man's earnings rose 5% in real terms after deducting income tax, insurance, child allowances, etc.
- Paul has to use his car a lot in his new job but he gets a good mileage allowance.
- He gets a small allowance from his father - just enough to live on until he starts to earn money.
- The basic calorie allowance is 2000 calories a day for women and 2500 for men.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Grants & allowances
- all expenses paid idiom
- benefit
- bursary
- civil list
- cost-of-living allowance
- dearness allowance
- endowment
- expense account
- featherbed
- freeship
- fringe benefit
- housekeeping
- old age pension
- scholarship
- stabilizer
- subsidize
- subsidy
- travel expenses
- unemployment
- unemployment benefit
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
General words for size and amount
allowance noun (PREPARATION)
make allowance for
to prepare for the possibility of:
We should make allowance for bad weather and have plenty of umbrellas available.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Preparing
- batten
- batten down the hatches idiom
- break sb in
- build-up
- calibrate
- draw
- gear
- gird
- gird yourself idiom
- groundwork
- homework
- lay the basis/foundations for sth idiom
- preparation
- roll
- set the scene/stage idiom
- steel
- suit
- suit up
- work (yourself) up to sth
- work your way around to sth idiom
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allowance noun (ACCEPTING)
make allowances for
C2 To make allowances for someone is to think about their characteristics and not judge them too severely:
You should make allowances for him - he's been quite ill recently.
"This is a poor piece of work." "Yes, but you should make allowances for the fact that she's only seven."
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Treating someone well
- be spoilt for choice idiom
- coddle
- cosset
- do as you would be done by idiom
- do sb proud idiom
- indulge
- indulgence
- kid
- make much/a lot of sb idiom
- mollycoddle
- pander to sb/sth
- proud
- respect
- see sb right idiom
- smother
- spoil
- spoil sb rotten idiom
- succour
- treat
- wrap sb (up) in cotton wool idiom
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