allot

American  

[uh-lot] / əˈlɒt /

verb (used with object)

allotted, allotting

1. to divide or distribute by share or portion; distribute or parcel out; apportion.

   to allot the available farmland among the settlers.

2. to appropriate for a special purpose.

   to allot money for a park.

3. to assign as a portion; set apart; dedicate.

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allot British  

/ əˈlɒt /

verb

1. to assign or distribute (shares, etc)

2. to designate for a particular purpose

   money was allotted to cover expenses

3. (foll by to) apportion

   we allotted two hours to the case

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Related Words

See assign.

Other Word Forms

• allottable adjective
• allotter noun
• misallot verb (used with object)
• preallot verb (used with object)
• reallot verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of allot

First recorded in 1425–75; earlier alot, late Middle English alotten, from Middle French aloter, equivalent to a- a- ⁵ + lot lot (from Germanic ) + -er infinitive suffix

Compare meaning

How does allot compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• allot vs. a lot

Example Sentences

Pheu Thai was allotted nine minister jobs, including agriculture, labour, education and social development.

From Barron's

No one makes as many good points in the allotted debate time as I can.

From Literature

The ladies agree to allot 20 minutes to grousing about their aches and pains, and then they have to move on to some appointed discussion topic.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We wrote up this agreement about screen time with his school counsellors, what he had to get accomplished in order to get an allotted amount of screen time," Ping said.

From BBC

Wolf Alice, winning best group, used their allotted stage time to make a plea for the "pubs, clubs and grassroots venues where we quite literally learned to play our instruments and write our songs".

From BBC

Related Words

• allocate
• appoint
• apportion
• appropriate
• assign
• designate
• distribute
• earmark
• set aside