Definitions for afford
əˈfɔrd, əˈfoʊrdaf·ford

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. afford(verb)

   be able to spare or give up

   "I can't afford to spend two hours with this person"

2. yield, give, afford(verb)

   be the cause or source of

   "He gave me a lot of trouble"; "Our meeting afforded much interesting information"

3. afford(verb)

   have the financial means to do something or buy something

   "We can't afford to send our children to college"; "Can you afford this car?"

4. afford, open, give(verb)

   afford access to

   "the door opens to the patio"; "The French doors give onto a terrace"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. afford(Verb)

   To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious; -- with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough.

   Etymology: From afōrthen, geforðian, forðian, from forð. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See forth.

2. afford(Verb)

   To offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting, expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury.

   Etymology: From afōrthen, geforðian, forðian, from forð. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See forth.

3. afford(Verb)

   To give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the natural result, fruit, or issue.

   Etymology: From afōrthen, geforðian, forðian, from forð. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See forth.

4. afford(Verb)

   To give, grant, or confer, with a remoter reference to its being the natural result; to provide; to furnish.

   A good life affords consolation in old age.

   Etymology: From afōrthen, geforðian, forðian, from forð. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See forth.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Afford(verb)

   to give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the natural result, fruit, or issue; as, grapes afford wine; olives afford oil; the earth affords fruit; the sea affords an abundant supply of fish

   Etymology: [OE. aforthen, AS. geforian, forian, to further, accomplish, afford, fr. for forth, forward. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See Forth.]

2. Afford(verb)

   to give, grant, or confer, with a remoter reference to its being the natural result; to provide; to furnish; as, a good life affords consolation in old age

   Etymology: [OE. aforthen, AS. geforian, forian, to further, accomplish, afford, fr. for forth, forward. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See Forth.]

3. Afford(verb)

   to offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting, expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury; as, A affords his goods cheaper than B; a man can afford a sum yearly in charity

   Etymology: [OE. aforthen, AS. geforian, forian, to further, accomplish, afford, fr. for forth, forward. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See Forth.]

4. Afford(verb)

   to incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious; -- with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough

   Etymology: [OE. aforthen, AS. geforian, forian, to further, accomplish, afford, fr. for forth, forward. The prefix ge- has no well defined sense. See Forth.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Afford

   af-fōrd′, v.t. to yield or produce: to be able to sell, to expend, or to bear the expense of. [M. E. aforthen, from A.S. geforthian or forthian, to further or cause to come forth.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. afford

   To have the money within a budget to buy or pay.

   They were able to afford to put money in the bank for savings every month.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 4, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'afford' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2613

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'afford' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1014

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'afford' in Verbs Frequency: #381

How to pronounce afford?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say afford in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of afford in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of afford in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of afford in a Sentence

1. Howard Crosby:

   A wisely chosen illustration is almost essential to fasten the truth upon the ordinary mind, and no teacher can afford to neglect this part of his preparation.

2. Ali Nouri:

   If you can afford to wait until other people are done and they've left, then you should wait, you're reducing the risk of inhaling aerosolized particles from other people.

3. Janet Colfer:

   I think they just want people who can afford the prices eventually, not the likes of ordinary people like myself and my husband.

4. Catherine Carey:

   The hypothesis is that the more stimulating your environment is ... the more you're increasing the complexity of the brain, the more you can afford to lose, you're building a buffer.

5. Stephane Reynier de Montlaux:

   They cannot go to the hospital just because they cannot afford the price (of treatment) and whole logistics (of getting there), so they go back to the village and the kid dies in the village ... It's a very recurrent story.

Images & Illustrations of afford

Popularity rank by frequency of use