allocate
/ˈæl.əˌkeɪt/verb
allocate is spelled A-L-L-O-C-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, allocate means “To set aside for a purpose” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in allocate?
| Letters | 8: A-L-L-O-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is allocate?
Allocate appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce allocate?
- UK /ˈæl.ə.keɪt/
- US /ˈæl.əˌkeɪt/
- US /ˈæl.oʊˌkeɪt/
Allocate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-allocate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of allocate
- allocates present, singular, he/she/it
- allocating participle, present
- allocated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does allocate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To set aside for a purpose.
Please do not eat the meringue, as it is allocated for the dinner party tomorrow.
- 2
To distribute according to a plan, generally followed by the adposition to.
The bulk of K–12 education funds are allocated to school districts that in turn pay for the cost of operating schools.
- 3
To reserve a portion of memory for use by a computer program.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteallocated
noun
- 1
UKobsoleteA writ authorizing payment, allowance, grant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate allocate?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of allocate: alloc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Allocate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | allouer |
| German | belegen, zuordnen , zuteilen , allozieren |
| Portuguese | alocar |
| Spanish | asignar, adjudicar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does allocate come from?
From Latin allocātus, perfect passive participle of Latin allocō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + locō. Doublet of allow. By surface analysis, al- + locate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).