🇺🇸
/ˈæl.ə.keɪt/
🇺🇸
/ˈæl.ə.keɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈæləkeɪt/
🇬🇧
/ˈæləkeɪt/
Past Tense
allocated
Past Participle
allocated
Gerund
allocating
3rd Person
allocates
To allocate means to deliberately assign or set aside something—especially money, time, space, or people—for a particular purpose or person. Think of it like a careful manager handing out puzzle pieces to the right spots: you don’t just give things away—you place them where they’ll do the most good.
The government allocated $2 million to improve rural healthcare infrastructure.
She carefully allocates two hours each morning for deep work and learning.
We need to allocate sufficient server capacity before launching the new app.
Managers must allocate tasks fairly to avoid team burnout.
The committee allocated the remaining grant money among three community projects.
loc
Comes from the Latin noun 'locus' (genitive 'loci'), meaning 'place' or 'location'. It conveys the core idea of 'place', 'position', or 'setting', and underlies concepts involving assignment to a specific location or category. Examples include allocate, local, locate, locomotion, locket, and dislocate.
al-
Comes from the Latin prefix 'ad-' (assimilated before 'l' to 'al-'), meaning 'to', 'toward', or 'at'. It expresses direction, addition, or application — here indicating 'assigning to a place or purpose'. Examples include allocate, allow, allot, allude, and allege.