allowance

allowance — noun

1. a fixed sum of money paid to someone on a regular schedule by an employer, gover

1.nounC1
Definition

a fixed sum of money paid to someone on a regular schedule by an employer, government, or other body, usually to help cover a specific cost such as housing, travel, or meals.

Example

Renata's company pays a monthly travel allowance of two hundred pounds.

[type] allowance: travel allowance

Soldiers stationed overseas receive a small housing allowance each month.

collocation: housing allowance

Common collocations
  • travel allowance
  • housing allowance
  • meal allowance
  • clothing allowance
  • monthly allowance
Synonyms
  • stipend

    more formal; often paid to students or trainees

  • subsidy

    usually government money supporting a specific activity, not personal living costs

  • grant

    typically a one-off award, not a recurring payment

Grammar Patterns

a [type] allowance

an allowance for [purpose]

Usage Note

Subject is usually an institution (employer, government, school) rather than a private individual. Often appears as a compound noun: travel allowance, meal allowance, housing allowance.

Common Mistakes

My boss gave me an allowance to fix my car.
My boss reimbursed me for fixing the car.
'allowance' is paid regularly on a schedule, not as a one-time refund.

2. the maximum quantity of something that rules permit you to have, use, or earn be

2.nounC1
Definition

the maximum quantity of something that rules permit you to have, use, or earn before a charge or limit applies — for example, baggage on a flight or income before tax.

Example

Each passenger on the flight has a baggage allowance of twenty kilograms.

collocation: baggage allowance

Greta exceeded her data allowance and had to pay an extra ten pounds.

exceed one's allowance

Common collocations
  • baggage allowance
  • tax allowance
  • data allowance
  • duty-free allowance
  • personal allowance
Synonyms
  • limit

    more general; can be a hard cap, while an allowance is what's permitted up to that cap

  • quota

    stresses an assigned share, often as part of a total

  • ration

    a portion fixed in scarcity, often of food or fuel

Grammar Patterns

a [type] allowance

exceed/within one's allowance

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a permitted ceiling (you may use up to X), while sense 1 is a payment you receive. The allowance here is not money you get — it is a limit on what is allowed.

Common Mistakes

I received a baggage allowance of 20kg.
I had a baggage allowance of 20kg.
you don't receive this kind of allowance; it's a ceiling, not a payment.

3. a small sum of money that a parent gives a child on a regular basis, which the c

3.nounB2
Definition

a small sum of money that a parent gives a child on a regular basis, which the child is free to spend on whatever they like.

Example

Mia's parents give her a five-dollar allowance every Saturday morning.

give somebody an allowance

Tom saved his weekly allowance for two months to buy a skateboard.

weekly allowance

Common collocations
  • weekly allowance
  • monthly allowance
  • give an allowance
  • earn an allowance
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

give somebody an allowance

weekly/monthly allowance

Usage Note

Common in American English; British speakers more often say 'pocket money' for the same idea, and 'allowance' in BrE often points to sense 1 or 2 instead.

Common Mistakes

My boss gives me an allowance every week.
My boss pays me a weekly wage.
'allowance' in this sense is parent-to-child money, not work pay.

4. extra time, room, or resources that you build into a plan because you expect a d

4.nounC2
Definition

extra time, room, or resources that you build into a plan because you expect a delay, problem, or other variable to come up.

Example

We left at six to make allowance for traffic on the bridge.

make allowance for [delay]

The carpenter cut each plank with an allowance of two centimetres for sanding.

an allowance of [amount]

Common collocations
  • make allowance for
  • an allowance of
  • time allowance
  • safety allowance
Synonyms
  • margin

    the gap between your plan and the limit; often spatial or financial

  • buffer

    extra capacity kept aside to absorb shocks

  • leeway

    freedom to act within limits; often used of time or behaviour

Grammar Patterns

make (an) allowance for [something]

Usage Note

Object must be a possible problem or variable (traffic, delays, errors, expansion). Frequently appears inside the phrase 'make (an) allowance for' — see the idiom entry for that fixed expression.

5. the willingness to be gentler with a person's mistake or bad behaviour because y

5.nounC2
Definition

the willingness to be gentler with a person's mistake or bad behaviour because you remember a special difficulty in their situation.

Example

The teacher made allowances for Yuki, who had only studied English for six months.

make allowances for [somebody]

Grandma made every allowance for the twins when they broke her favourite vase.

make every allowance for [somebody]

Common collocations
  • make allowances for
  • make every allowance
  • allowance for somebody
Synonyms
  • leniency

    softer treatment, especially in punishment

  • indulgence

    letting someone do as they wish, sometimes too much

  • understanding

    shows sympathy with the person's situation

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

make allowances for [somebody]

Usage Note

Almost always used in the plural inside the phrase 'make allowances for somebody' — see the idiom entry. Distinguish from sense 4: sense 4 plans around problems, while sense 5 forgives or excuses people.

Common Mistakes

I make allowance to my brother because he is tired.
I make allowances for my brother because he is tired.
the fixed phrase uses 'for', and 'allowances' is usually plural here.
Idioms

make allowance(s) for something

idiom

To include something in your plans or thinking so that it does not cause problems later.

Mia made allowance for traffic and arrived early at the airport.

Did the team make allowance for possible delays in their schedule?

make allowances (for somebody)

idiom

To accept someone's unusual behavior because they have a problem or a special reason.

We made allowances for Diego because he was new to the job.

Should the teacher make allowances for students with learning difficulties?

allowance — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words name money handed out by an institution, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Allowance' is the everyday word for a recurring payment that helps cover a specific cost — a travel allowance, a meal allowance — and it sits comfortably in workplace and family contexts. 'Stipend' is more formal and usually goes to a student, intern, or clergy member; it implies modest support during training rather than a salary. 'Subsidy' is government money that lowers the price of a public good (farming, energy, public transport) — the recipient is often an industry, not a person. 'Grant' is normally a one-off award for a project, with conditions on how it must be spent. 'Benefit' refers to state welfare payments such as unemployment or housing benefit. So a graduate student might receive a stipend while their landlord receives a housing benefit, but neither of those would be called an allowance.

allowance ↗stipendsubsidy ↗grant ↗benefit ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • travel allowance
  • housing allowance
  • tax allowance
  • baggage allowance
  • weekly allowance

Adverbs

Phrases

  • make allowance for
  • make allowances for
  • exceed an allowance
  • stay within an allowance
  • live on an allowance

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Comes from Old French 'alouance', meaning praise or approval, which itself grew from the Latin verb 'allaudare' (to praise). In medieval English the word first meant the formal approval of an account or expense; from there it came to mean the sum of money that had been approved, and finally any fixed amount granted on a regular basis. The verb meaning 'to ration' is much later and now sounds old-fashioned.