# allocate

/ˈæɫəˌkeɪt/ (US) · /ˈæləkˌeɪt/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/allocate
Updated: 2026-05-02

## Definition

to decide that a specific amount of money, time, or space should be used for a particular purpose. You use this when you are giving out resources to different people or tasks.

For teachers: to distribute resources or duties for a specific purpose or to particular recipients. Transitive; frequently used in administrative, financial, or technical contexts to describe the formal assignment of assets.

## Examples

- The manager needs to allocate more time to this project.
- The local government decided to allocate a larger portion of the budget to improving public parks this year.
- In high-performance computing, the operating system must efficiently allocate memory to various processes to prevent system crashes and ensure smooth multitasking.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The committee allocated for the project." but "The committee allocated funds for the project." — Allocate is transitive and must have a direct object (the resource being given) before the prepositional phrase.

## Usage notes

- The verb is transitive and requires a direct object. It often takes the preposition 'to' for the recipient or 'for' for the purpose.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.