allow
/əˈlaʊ/verb
allow is spelled A-L-L-O-W: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, allow means “To let one have as a suitable share of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in allow?
| Letters | 5: A-L-L-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 102 times per million words; the 1,048th 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 allow?
Allow appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th 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 allow?
- /əˈlaʊ/
Allow has 2 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: En-us-allow.ogg, En-uk-to_allow.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of allow
- allows present, singular, he/she/it
- allowing participle, present
- allowed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does allow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To let one have as a suitable share of something.
to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest
- 2
To present something as possible or reasonable.
The event allows of only one interpretation.
- 3
To permit, to give permission to.
I will allow my son to be absent.
- 4
To not bar or obstruct.
Although I don't consent to their holding such meetings, I will allow them for the time being.
- 5
To acknowledge, accept the truth of; to concede; to accede to an opinion; to say something one agrees on in the context of a larger disagreement or reluctance.
to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow an appeal
- 6
To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct.
to allow a sum for leakage
- 7
To make an allowance, to take into account when making plans.
When calculating a budget for a construction project, always allow for contingencies.
- 8
To render physically possible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Allow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | laisser, accorder , permettre |
| German | erlauben, gestatten , eingestehen , einpreisen |
| Portuguese | deixar, permitir , aceitar , considerar |
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.