allowance

Meanings

Plural: allowances

Noun

• an amount allowed or granted (as during a given period)
  • "travel allowance"
  • "my weekly allowance of two eggs"
  • "a child's allowance should not be too generous"
• a sum granted as reimbursement for expenses
• an amount added or deducted on the basis of qualifying circumstances
  • "an allowance for profit"
• a permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits
• a reserve fund created by a charge against profits in order to provide for changes in the value of a company's assets
• the act of allowing
  • "He objected to the allowance of smoking in the dining room"
• Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
• Acknowledgment.
• An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
• An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
• Such a sum or portion granted to a family member or familiar, especially one's own child; pocket money for such a person.
• Abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.
• A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.
• A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.
• A permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coins, owing to the difficulty in securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.
• Approval; approbation.
• License; indulgence.
• A planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

Verb

• put on a fixed allowance, as of food
• To put upon a fixed allowance (especially of provisions and drink).
• To supply in a fixed and limited quantity.

Synonyms

adjustment, allowance account, authorization, leeway, margin, permission, remedy, sanction, stipend, tolerance, valuation account, valuation reserve

Antonyms

penalty