Definition of: allow

(ə·lou′) v.t.
1. To put no obstacle in the way of; permit to occur or do: Children are allowed in the park; He allowed the flowers to wither.
2. To admit; grant, as something claimed; acknowledge as true or valid: I allow her ability, but not her right to exercise it.
3. To make an addition, deduction, or concession of, as for a consideration not formally appearing in the reckoning: to allow three pounds extra for waste; to allow customers a month to pay.
4. To grant; allot, as a share or portion: The emperor allowed him one hundred pounds a year.
5. U.S. Dial. To maintain; declare.
6. Archaic Approve; sanction.
—v.i.
7. To permit the occurrence or realization of: with of: Your remark allows of several interpretations.
8. To bear in mind as a modifying or extenuating circumstance; make due allowance for: with for: to allow for traffic conditions in getting to the train on time. [ <OF alouer place, use, assign <Med.L allocare (see ALLOCATE) and OF alouer, aloer approve <L allaudare extol <ad- to + laudare praise]
—al·lowed′ adjective Synonyms: admit, concede, confess, endure, grant, let, permit, sanction, suffer, tolerate, yield. We allow that which we do not attempt to hinder; we permit that to which we give express authorization; we concede a right; grant a request; permit an inspection of accounts; sanction a marriage; tolerate the rudeness of a well-meaning clerk; submit to a surgical operation; yield to a demand or necessity against our wish or will. Suffer, in the sense of mild concession, is now becoming rare. Compare PERMISSION. Antonyms: deny, disallow, disapprove, forbid, protest, refuse, reject, resist, withstand. See synonyms for PROHIBIT.