allowance

/əˈlaʊəns/

//əˈlaʊəns// noun

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

"allowance" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“allowance” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,887. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,887
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-allowance · allowance · English

allowance · rank #8,887 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,887
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH aired

Nearest frequency peer: aired (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “allowance”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “allowance” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

allowance vs alliance
78% similar
allowance vs allowable
78% similar

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

Key facts for allowance
PropertyValue
Headwordallowance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈlaʊəns/
Letters9
Frequency rank#8,887
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “allowance”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).allowancelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “aired” (#8,886), “apologies” (#8,889), “acids” (#8,884). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allowance” is #8,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around allowance (IPA /əˈlaʊəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,887 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for allowance, with forms such as "alloawnce", "allowacne", and "allowancce". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "alliance", "allowable", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin laus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin laudō Latin allaudō… The correct English form is allowance, spelled A-L-L-O-W-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
  2. 2
    Acknowledgment.
  3. 3
    An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
  4. 4
    An amount, portion, or share that is allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose.
  5. 5
    Abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.
  6. 6
    A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.
  7. 7
    A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.
  8. 8
    A permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coins, owing to the difficulty in securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.
  9. 9
    Approval; approbation.
  10. 10
    License; indulgence.
  11. 11
    A planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. you sent a large commission to Gregory de Cassado, to conclude, without the King's will or the state's allowance
  2. [Mr. Michie] Q[uestion]. Didn't Dr. Carter, Director of the OHTA [Office of Health Technology Assessment], and Martin Erlichman, OHTA scientific analyst assigned to this assessment, express to you concerns about 60 days being unreasonable as far as timeframe was concerned for this assessment? [Mr. Marshall] A[nswer]. There was some discussion about that,…

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin laus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin laudō Latin allaudō Old French aloer ▲ Latin ad- Latin locus ▲ Latin -ō Latin locō Latin allocō Old French aloer Old French alouer Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -iader. Old French -ance Old French alouancebor. Middle English allouance English allowance From Middle English allouance, from Old French alouance. Morphologically allow + -ance.

This word in other languages

anuencia(Español)indemnité(Français)Erlaubnis(Deutsch)permissão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alloawnce
  • allowacne
  • allowancce
  • allowanec
  • allowannce
  • allowence
  • allownace
  • allowwance
  • allwoance
  • alolwance
  • alowance
  • lalowance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allowance - 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.

alloawnce2allowacne2allowancce1allowanec2allowannce1allowence1allownace2allowwance1
Edit distance from "allowance"

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 "allowance"?
"allowance" is spelled A-L-L-O-W-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈlaʊəns/.
What does "allowance" mean?
As a noun, "allowance" means: Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
What words are commonly confused with "allowance"?
"allowance" is commonly confused with "alliance", "allowable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allowance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allowance" is /əˈlaʊəns/. 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 "allowance"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin laus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin laudō Lat... 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 "allowance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

apologies#8,889arbitrary#8,890subjected#8,863comprises#8,914

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

taxpayer12 variantscomposer12 variantssearches12 variantsfeminism12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list