noun license; indulgence.
2. allowance ·noun approval; approbation.
3. allowance ·noun acknowledgment.
4. allowance ·noun the act of allowing, granting, conceding, or admitting; authorization; permission; sanction; tolerance.
5. allowance ·noun a customary deduction from the gross weight of goods, different in different countries, such as tare and tret.
6. allowance ·noun abatement; deduction; the taking into account of mitigating circumstances; as, to make allowance for the inexperience of youth.
7. allowance ·noun to put upon a fixed allowance (·esp. of provisions and drink); to supply in a fixed and limited quantity; as, the captain was obliged to allowance his crew; our provisions were allowanced.
8. allowance ·noun that which is allowed; a share or portion allotted or granted; a sum granted as a reimbursement, a bounty, or as appropriate for any purpose; a stated quantity, as of food or drink; hence, a limited quantity of meat and drink, when provisions fall short.