afford
Americanverb (used with object)
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affords,
present (3rd person singular)
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afforded,
past participle, past
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affording
present participle
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to be able to do, manage, or bear without serious consequence or adverse effect.
The country can't afford another drought.
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to be able to meet the expense of; have or be able to spare the price of.
Can we afford a trip to Europe this year? The city can easily afford to repair the street.
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to be able to give or spare.
He can't afford the loss of a day.
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The transaction afforded him a good profit.
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to be capable of yielding or providing.
The records afford no explanation.
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to give or confer upon.
to afford great pleasure to someone.
verb
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to be able to do or spare something, esp without incurring financial difficulties or without risk of undesirable consequences
we can afford to buy a small house
I can afford to give you one of my chess sets
we can't afford to miss this play
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to give, yield, or supply
the meeting afforded much useful information
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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affordsimple
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affordssimple
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have affordedperfect
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has affordedperfect
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am affordingprogressive
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are affordingprogressive
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is affordingprogressive
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have been affordingperfect progressive
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has been affordingperfect progressive
Past
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affordedsimple
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had affordedperfect
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was affordingprogressive
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were affordingprogressive
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had been affordingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of afford
First recorded before 1050; Middle English aforthen, iforthen, Old English geforthian “to further, accomplish,” equivalent to ge- y- + forth forth + -ian infinitive suffix
Explanation
To afford means you have enough money or time for something. If you only have ten dollars on you, you can't afford to buy a twenty-dollar hat. Afford is a verb that has to do with means. You either have a surplus and therefore can afford something, or else you have a deficit and can’t. It can be in the monetary sense: "$100 for cashmere socks? I can’t afford that!” It can also refer to time: “Since my train wasn't scheduled to leave for another hour, I could afford to wait for my sister ten more minutes.” Or even access: “The castle walls afforded a wonderful view of the moat.”
Vocabulary lists containing afford
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Purple Hibiscus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Half of voters said they were at least somewhat worried about paying for monthly utilities, including 18% who said they were “very worried” about being able to afford the necessary costs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
But Europe can ill afford to anger China.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Then Urbagestión raised the rent to a level more in line with market prices, but Abascal couldn’t afford it on her €1,450 monthly pension.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
He said the battery was stolen a few months later and they researched a new one, but it would have been "quite a lot of money and I couldn't afford it at the time".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“They were making loans to lower-income people at a teaser rate when they knew they couldn’t afford to pay the go-to rate,” said Eisman.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
With the 19 addresses of “So Ordered”—each adapted as a tightly reasoned essay—Justice Alito affords the legal commentariat an unexacting way to understand his thought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Baku street circuit has a long straight that affords good overtaking possibilities and has a reputation for producing incident-packed races.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
But the nature of Dans’ role affords him more leeway than other appointees.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
The subscription also affords access to greater computing power, or “up to 40 minutes of RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell,” which is a reference to a type of Nvidia hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
The road above the town affords a panoramic view as far as the eye can'see.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Doe’s complaint alleges that the university only temporarily suspended some of the men and that others “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
A higher value indicates a higher debt burden relative to what can be afforded.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Investors have historically afforded Chugai a premium valuation because of its track record of discovering and developing innovative drugs, the U.S. bank says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
She wants to see Native Americans take an even stronger leadership role going forward, pointing to rights afforded to them by state law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, down in South Carolina the assurances afforded slavery that so troubled Martin of Maryland struck many delegates as inadequate.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The beats are the ideal accompaniment for Ms. Badu in her experimental mode, affording her space to work through her range of vocal styles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Foot Locker is dealing with challenges facing the broader athletic-shoe industry — namely, consumers who are too worried about affording basics to think about buying less essential items like sneakers, D.A.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
A reporter at the Times Herald covered my crime, stripped of context, affording neither of us humanity.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
She has claimed the four-bedroom home as her primary residence since at least 2015, according to a county tax office employee, affording her a home exemption tax break.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
There was even a porch outside, affording a beautiful view of the ancient Red Sea city.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
