verb

allocate

AL-uh-kayt

verb

To set aside or assign something for a particular purpose.

"The council allocated extra funding to local schools."

"Each department was allocated a fixed budget for the year."

In computing, to reserve a block of memory for a program to use.

"The program crashed because it couldn't allocate enough memory."

How to Use Allocate

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo assign a fixed share of something — money, time, resources — to a particular purpose or person.

Common pairings

allocate funds allocate resources allocate time

allocated past tense, allocates plural, allocates singular

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The council _____ extra funding to local schools.

From Latin allocare, "to place" — built from ad- ("to") and locare ("to place"), the same root that gives English "locate."

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