allowance
al·low·ance/əˈlaʊɪns/noun, verb
allowance is spelled A-L-L-O-W-A-N-C-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (al·low·ance). It appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, allowance means “Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of allowance is allowances.
How many letters and syllables are in allowance?
| Letters | 9: A-L-L-O-W-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: al·low·ance |
| In writing | 7.1 times per million words; the 8,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is allowance?
Allowance appears 7.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,918th 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 allowance?
- /əˈlaʊəns/
- US /əˈlaʊɪns/
Allowance has 3 syllables, split al·low·ance in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-allowance.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of allowance
- allowances plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- allowancing participle, present
- allowanced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does allowance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.
- 2
Acknowledgment.
- 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.
her meagre allowance of food or drink
- 4
Such a sum or portion granted to a family member or familiar, especially one's own child; pocket money for such a person.
She gives her daughters each an allowance of thirty dollars a month.
- 5
Abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances.
to make allowance for his naivety
- 6
A deduction from the gross weight of goods, such as to discount their container's weight or per a custom differing by country.
Minus the allowance, the total came to thirteen tons.
- 7
A permitted reduction in the weight that a racehorse must carry.
On the Flat, an apprentice jockey starts with an allowance of 7 lb.
- 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.
verb
- 1
To put upon a fixed allowance (especially of provisions and drink).
The captain was obliged to allowance his crew.
- 2
To supply in a fixed and limited quantity.
Our provisions were allowanced.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Allowance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Erlaubnis , Würdigung, Anerkennung , Goodwill-Abzug, Zugeständnis, Nachsicht |
| Portuguese | permissão , atenuante |
| Spanish | anuencia , propina, viático, asignación, mesada, pitanza |
| French | indemnité , jeu |
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.