Definitions for afford
əˈfɔrd, əˈfoʊrdaf·ford

Princeton's WordNet(2.00 / 1 vote)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. Paul Barrett:

   The kind of free speech that we are most interested in promoting — and that the first amendment is directed at — is speech related to political matters, public affairs and personal expression, none of those kinds of speech would be affected by an effort to screen out disguised, phony advertising that purports to come from organizations that don’t really exist and actually attempt to undermine discussions on elections. There will be some limitations on fraudulent speech and violent speech, but those are not the types of speech protected by the first amendment. We can afford to lose those types of speech to create an environment where free speech is promoted.

2. Ivana Chubbuck:

   If something is not making Natalie Imbruglia happy, stop doing it. I know I was lucky I could afford to do that but that was not wasted time. I honed my acting, I made my stage debut and the study I did helps with songwriting and singing and being able to deliver these songs.

3. Nancy Sharifi:

   Be prepared to work two-and-a-half jobs to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment, you need to know the facts before you unload your suitcases and end up in your friend's or cousin's house.

4. Piazza Venezia:

   When I go around I fill up this bottle with water because to buy mineral water costs and I cannot afford it.

5. Nusrat Chadoury:

   The bottom line is, poor people are being jailed because they are not able to afford their fines and fees, without even a hearing to determine that jail is even a punishment that should be imposed.

Images & Illustrations of afford

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