1 To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction. [Obs. or Archaic] Ye allow the deeds of your fathers. Luke xi. 48. We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his life, approve his learning. Fuller.
2 To like; to be suited or pleased with. [Obs.] How allow you the model of these clothes Massinger.
3 To sanction; to invest; to intrust. [Obs.] Thou shalt be . . . allowed with absolute power. Shak.
4 To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have; as, to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest. He was allowed about three hundred pounds a year. Macaulay.
5 To own or acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion; as, to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow the truth of a proposition. I allow, with Mrs. Grundy and most moralists, that Miss Newcome’s conduct . . . was highly reprehensible. Thackeray.
6 To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; esp. to abate or deduct; as, to allow a sum for leakage.
7 To grant license to; to permit; to consent to; as, to allow a son to be absent.