What does “allow” mean?
- 1
verbto give someone permission to do something
My parents don’t allow me to stay out late.
- 2
verbto make it possible for something to happen
The new software allows you to edit photos easily.
Allow at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /əˈlaʊ/ · uh-LOW
How to use “allow” correctly
“Allow” takes “to” + verb, but “let” does not: “They allowed me to go” / “They let me go.” The “ow” rhymes with “how”.
Common phrases with “allow”
- allow sb to do sth
- be allowed to
- allow time for
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- let
- permit
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- forbid
- prevent
Word family
- allowance
- allowed
“allow” is on these word lists
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