allot

/əˈlɒt/

//əˈlɒt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"allot" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“allot” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #37,314) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#37,314
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.

Corpus desk

Index EN-allot · allot · English

allot · rank #37,314 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,314
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH amine

Nearest frequency peer: amine (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “allot”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “allot” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

allot vs alt
60% similar
allot vs also
60% similar
allot vs ally
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for allot
PropertyValue
Headwordallot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈlɒt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#37,314
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “allot”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).allotlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “amine” (#37,315), “Alcatraz” (#37,312), “amma” (#37,316). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allot” is #37,314. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for allot is neighbouring look-alikes ("alt", "also", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /əˈlɒt/. Frequency #37,314 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for allot, with forms such as "allott", "alolt", and "lalot". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "alt", "also", "ally", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English allotten, from Old French aloter (Modern French allotir). à + lot. The correct English form is allot, spelled A-L-L-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
  2. 2
    To assign or designate as a task or for a purpose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how allot appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Each candidate was allotted five minutes to make a presentation in front of the judges.

Etymology

From Middle English allotten, from Old French aloter (Modern French allotir). à + lot.

This word in other languages

repartir(Español)verteilen(Deutsch)alocar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • allott
  • alolt
  • lalot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allot - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

allott1alolt2lalot2
Edit distance from "allot"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "allot"?
"allot" is spelled A-L-L-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlɒt/.
What does "allot" mean?
As a verb, "allot" means: To distribute or apportion by (or as if by) lot.
What words are commonly confused with "allot"?
"allot" is commonly confused with "alt", "also", "ally". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allot" is /əˈlɒt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "allot"?
From Middle English allotten, from Old French aloter (Modern French allotir). à + lot. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "allot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

amine#37,315batty#37,336betta#37,341bitty#37,344

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list