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1. An amount allowed or granted (as during a given period)
   "travel allowance"; "my weekly allowance of two eggs"; "a child's allowance should not be too generous"
    
2. A sum granted as reimbursement for expenses
    
3. An amount added or deducted on the basis of qualifying circumstances
   "an allowance for profit";
   - adjustment
    
4. A permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits
   - leeway, margin, tolerance
    
5. A reserve fund created by a charge against profits in order to provide for changes in the value of a company's assets
   - valuation reserve, valuation account, allowance account
    
6. The act of allowing
   "He objected to the allowance of smoking in the dining room"

1. Put on a fixed allowance, as of food

Derived forms: allowanced, allowances, allowancing

Type of: accord, allot, allow, disagreement, discrepancy, divergence, grant, licence [Brit, Cdn], license [N. Amer], part, percentage, permission, permit, portion, recompense, reimbursement, reserve account, reserve fund, share, variance

Encyclopedia: Allowance