allocate
AL-uh-kate
/ˈæləkeɪt/
To distribute resources, duties, or shares for a particular purpose according to a plan.
Implies a systematic, rational, and often mathematical division of limited assets (like money, time, space, or personnel) among competing needs.
The story behind the word. In medieval Latin, 'allocare' meant 'to place' or 'to admit in an account.' It was used in financial ledgers to show that a specific sum of money had been 'placed' next to a specific expense line.
Word relationships
- allot: 'Allot' emphasizes the giving of a specific, pre-determined share or portion to an individual.
- earmark: 'Earmark' means to set aside a specific resource for a highly specific future purpose, often before actual distribution.
- withhold: 'Withhold' means to keep resources back rather than distributing them.
- amass: 'Amass' means to gather and pile up resources in one place instead of distributing them.
Commonly confused with
- locate: 'Locate' means to find where something is, whereas 'allocate' means to assign a place or portion to something.
Word family
- allocation (noun): The action of allocating, or the portion of resource allocated.
- allocator (noun): A person or system that distributes resources.
Collocations
- allocate resources
- allocate funds
- allocate time
- allocate tasks
Example sentences
- "The city council voted to allocate three million dollars specifically for the restoration of public parks." A government budget announcement.
Memory hook
Think of 'allotting' resources to a specific 'location'. Al-locate. Allot to a location.
When not to use
Do not use when simply giving a single item to a single person without any sense of division or planning (e.g., 'I allocated the pen to him' is unnatural; use 'gave' or 'handed').
Fun facts
- The word 'locus' in Latin also gave us 'local', 'locomotive', and 'collocation' (words that are placed together).
Explore more words
allocation, deploy, distributive, budget, redistribution, allowance
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