Allocate


to set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot:
to allocate funds for new projects.
to fix the place of; locate.
Contemporary Examples

While this frees up resources the Romney camp can allocate elsewhere, it could prove costly if it lets Santorum on the board.
Massachusetts and Vermont Loom Large on Super Tuesday Ben Jacobs March 2, 2012

And we can talk about whether we want to allocate fewer resources to the aged.
Alan Greenspan’s Terrible Fiscal Cliff Comments David Frum November 15, 2012

As we move toward recovery, you’ll probably want to allocate more of your investment portfolio toward inflation hedges.
The Cult of Gold David Frum January 24, 2012

The president requested that Congress allocate funds to develop a vaccine.
Will Obama Stumble Like Ford? Julian Zelizer April 28, 2009

Why allocate education dollars to a community perceived to be off the charts with spelling-bee winners and academic scholars?
Asian-Americans Reject ‘Good’ News in Pew Report Joie Chen June 25, 2012

Historical Examples

I once intended to allocate a pocket especially for greenbacks, but found it unnecessary.
Mince Pie

Author: Christopher Darlington Morley

Release Date: October 10, 2004 [eBook #13694]
Christopher Darlington Morley

In Chinese annals two names appear as those of the district and town (I am not able to allocate their application with certainty).
The Bbur-nma in English Babur, Emperor of Hindustan

It requires keen and discriminating judgment to allocate specimens with passing exactitude as to time and place.
Chats on Cottage and Farmhouse Furniture Arthur Hayden

My specimens also showed these intermediate tendencies and I am unable at present to allocate the specimens to subspecies.
Birds from North Borneo Max C. Thompson

It was accordingly arranged to allocate yards or separate sections of yards, so that one class of tonnage only would be produced.
Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918 Various

verb (transitive)
to assign or allot for a particular purpose
a less common word for locate (sense 2)
v.

1630s, from verbal used of adjective allocate (mid-15c. in legal use), from Medieval Latin allocate (the common first word of writs authorizing payment), imperative plural of allocare “allocate,” from Latin ad- “to” (see ad-) + locare “to place” (see locate). Related: Allocated; allocating.

Read Also:

  • Allocated

    to set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot: to allocate funds for new projects. to fix the place of; locate. Contemporary Examples Yet resources will also be allocated to some new writers and even some smaller books—because they have to be. Why Random and Penguin Must Merge—And When They Almost Did Gayle Feldman […]

  • Allocating

    to set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot: to allocate funds for new projects. to fix the place of; locate. Contemporary Examples “It pretty much looks like taking a central solar plant and allocating it across 3,000 roofs,” said Rumido. Panel Discussion The Daily Beast September 7, 2014 TF: It may be at […]

  • Allocation

    the act of ; apportionment. the state of being . the share or portion . Accounting. a system of dividing expenses and incomes among the various branches, departments, etc., of a business. Contemporary Examples In budgetary terms, it was a pittance: 0.1 percent of the CDC’s $2.2 billion allocation. The Reason for Our Woeful Lack […]

  • Allocative

    the act of ; apportionment. the state of being . the share or portion . Accounting. a system of dividing expenses and incomes among the various branches, departments, etc., of a business. noun the act of allocating or the state of being allocated a part that is allocated; share (accounting, Brit) a system of dividing […]

  • Allocator

    to set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot: to allocate funds for new projects. to fix the place of; locate. verb (transitive) to assign or allot for a particular purpose a less common word for locate (sense 2) v. 1630s, from verbal used of adjective allocate (mid-15c. in legal use), from Medieval Latin […]


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