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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,887 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,887
frequency rank, English
9
letters
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting.

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)

Where “allowance” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for allowance is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈlaʊəns/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,887 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “allowance”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-L-L-O-W-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈlaʊəns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “alliance” - see the side-by-side comparison. allowance vs alliance
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list