allocate funds

Meanings

1. 1phrasetransitiveformal

   to officially give a particular amount of money to a person, group, or purpose

   Grammar: Takes an object: allocate funds for a project. Often followed by to or for.

   Patterns

   • allocate funds to someone/something
   • allocate funds for something
   • allocate funds among someone

   The government will allocate funds to rural schools next year.

   The board decided to allocate funds for a new library.

   We need to allocate funds carefully among the three departments.

2. 2phrasetransitivebusinessfinance

   to set aside money in a budget for a specific future use

   Grammar: Often used in business and finance contexts; can be passive: funds were allocated.

   Patterns

   • allocate funds in advance
   • allocate funds for the next quarter

   The company allocated funds for research and development.

   They allocated funds in advance to cover emergency repairs.

Common combinations

allocate funds to

The city will allocate funds to public transport.

allocate funds for

We should allocate funds for employee training.

allocate funds among

The charity allocated funds among five local projects.

government-allocated funds

Government-allocated funds must be spent by June.

Synonyms and how they differ

assign

Assign is more general and can refer to tasks or resources, not just money.

earmark

Earmark means to reserve money for a specific purpose, often in a political context.

distribute

Distribute focuses on giving out something among several recipients, not necessarily money.

Opposites

Word family

allocation noun

the act of giving out money or resources, or the amount given

allocated adjective

officially given or set aside for a purpose

Commonly confused: allocate funds or allot funds?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “allocate funds”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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