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the act of .
an amount or share allotted or granted.
a sum of money allotted or granted for a particular purpose, as for expenses:
Her allowance for the business trip was $200.
a sum of money allotted or granted to a person on a regular basis, as for personal or general living expenses:
The art student lived on an allowance of $300 a month. When I was in first grade, my parents gave me an allowance of 50 cents a week.
an addition or deduction based on an extenuating or qualifying circumstance:
an allowance for profit; an allowance for depreciation.
acknowledgment; concession:
the allowance of a claim.
sanction; :
the allowance of slavery.
Machinery. a prescribed difference in dimensions of two closely fitting mating parts with regard to minimum clearance or maximum interference.
Compare (def 6a).
Coining. (def 7).
to place on a fixed allowance, as of food or drink.
to allocate (supplies, rations, etc.) in fixed or regular amounts.
make allowance / allowances (for),

to take mitigating factors or circumstances into consideration.
to pardon; excuse.
to reserve time, money, etc.; allow for:
Make allowance for souvenirs on the return trip.

Contemporary Examples

I was very, very careful about how I spent my allowance dollars.
The Bag Lady Papers, Part VIII Alexandra Penney June 27, 2009

The $83,000 included a $26,000 BMW, $9,000 to Hunter’s spiritual advisor and $38,000 in monthly allowance checks.
John Edwards’ Defense Rests After Just Over Two Days of Underwhelming Testimony Diane Dimond May 15, 2012

Laham pays $200 a month for rent alone, and, like Nidal, she has used up her UNRWA allowance.
Syria’s Palestinians Seek Refuge in Lebanon Venetia Rainey February 10, 2013

I learned to save pennies from the minute I got an allowance.
The Bag Lady Papers Alexandra Penney December 16, 2008

When I was a little kid, I hoarded my $2 weekly allowance while my older brother spent his instantly.
A Recession Is Just What Teens Need Zac Bissonnette December 2, 2008

Historical Examples

allowance should be made for this illusion in comparing fruit with illustration.
The Grapes of New York U. P. Hedrick

He was a year younger than I, and young-looking even when that allowance was made.
Little Dorrit Charles Dickens

He had an allowance from his mother of three thousand a year.
The Gay Cockade Temple Bailey

He meant to keep up her allowance, he said, and he had insured his life for her.
The Harbor Ernest Poole

This often proceeds from too large a portion of flour, and too small an allowance of butter and eggs.
Miss Leslie’s Lady’s New Receipt-Book Eliza Leslie

noun
an amount of something, esp money or food, given or allotted usually at regular intervals
a discount, as in consideration for something given in part exchange or to increase business; rebate
(in Britain) an amount of a person’s income that is not subject to a particular tax and is therefore deducted before his or her liability to taxation is assessed
a portion set aside to compensate for something or to cover special expenses
(Brit, education) a salary supplement given to a teacher who is appointed to undertake extra duties and responsibilities
admission; concession
the act of allowing; sanction; toleration
something allowed
(usually foll by for) make allowances, make allowance

to take mitigating circumstances into account in consideration (of)
to allow (for)

verb
(transitive) to supply (something) in limited amounts
n.

late 14c., “praise” (a sense now obsolete), from Old French aloance “allowance, granting, allocation,” from alouer (see allow). Sense of “a sum alloted to meet expenses” is from c.1400. In accounts, meaning “a sum placed to one’s credit” is attested from 1520s. To make allowances is literally to add or deduct a sum from someone’s account for some special circumstance. Figurative use of the phrase is attested from 1670s.
see: make allowance