afford

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Related to afforded: mitigate, insinuating, flub, berate, compensate, cavorting

af·ford

(ə-fôrd′)

tr.v. af·ford·ed, af·ford·ing, af·fords

1. To have the financial means for; bear the cost of: able to afford a new car.

2. To manage to spare or give up: can't afford an hour for lunch.

3. To manage or bear without disadvantage or risk to oneself: can afford to be tolerant.

4. To make available or have as a necessary feature; provide: a tree that affords ample shade; a sport affording good exercise.

[Middle English aforthen, from Old English geforthian, to carry out : ge-, perfective pref.; see yclept + forthian, to further (from forth, forth, forward; see per in Indo-European roots).]

af·ford′a·bil′i·ty (ə-fôr′də-bĭl′ĭ-tē) n.

af·ford′a·ble adj.

af·ford′a·bly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

afford

(əˈfɔːd)

1. (preceded by: can, could, etc) to be able to do or spare something, esp without incurring financial difficulties or without risk of undesirable consequences: we can afford to buy a small house; I can afford to give you one of my chess sets; we can't afford to miss this play.

2. to give, yield, or supply: the meeting afforded much useful information.

[Old English geforthian to further, promote, from forth forth; the Old English prefix ge- was later reduced to a-, and the modern spelling (C16) is influenced by words beginning aff-]

afˈfordable adj

afˌfordaˈbility n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

af•ford

(əˈfɔrd, əˈfoʊrd)

v.t.

1. to be able to undergo, manage, or the like, without serious consequence: The country can't afford another drought.

2. to be able to meet the expense of or spare the price of: Can I afford a new dress?

3. to furnish; supply: The sale afforded us a good profit.

4. to give; confer upon: to afford great pleasure to someone.

[before 1050; Middle English aforthen, iforthen, Old English geforthian to further, accomplish, v. derivative of forth forth]

afford

If you can afford something, you have enough money to buy it. If you can't afford something, you don't have enough money to buy it.

It's too expensive – we can't afford it.

Do you think one day we'll be able to afford a new sofa?

Afford is almost always used with can, could, or be able to.

Be Careful!
Don't say that someone 'affords' something. Don't say, for example, 'We afforded a new television'. Say 'We were able to afford a new television'.

You say that someone can afford to have something or can afford to do something.

Imagine a situation where everybody can afford to have a car.

I can't afford to rent this flat.

Be Careful!
Don't say that someone 'can afford having' something or 'can afford doing' something.

Be Careful!
Don't use a passive form of afford. Don't say that something 'can be afforded'. Instead you say that people can afford it.

We need to build houses that people can afford.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

afford

Past participle: afforded
Gerund: affording

Imperative
afford
afford

Present
I afford
you afford
he/she/it affords
we afford
you afford
they afford

Preterite
I afforded
you afforded
he/she/it afforded
we afforded
you afforded
they afforded

Present Continuous
I am affording
you are affording
he/she/it is affording
we are affording
you are affording
they are affording

Present Perfect
I have afforded
you have afforded
he/she/it has afforded
we have afforded
you have afforded
they have afforded

Past Continuous
I was affording
you were affording
he/she/it was affording
we were affording
you were affording
they were affording

Past Perfect
I had afforded
you had afforded
he/she/it had afforded
we had afforded
you had afforded
they had afforded

Future
I will afford
you will afford
he/she/it will afford
we will afford
you will afford
they will afford

Future Perfect
I will have afforded
you will have afforded
he/she/it will have afforded
we will have afforded
you will have afforded
they will have afforded

Future Continuous
I will be affording
you will be affording
he/she/it will be affording
we will be affording
you will be affording
they will be affording

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been affording
you have been affording
he/she/it has been affording
we have been affording
you have been affording
they have been affording

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been affording
you will have been affording
he/she/it will have been affording
we will have been affording
you will have been affording
they will have been affording

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been affording
you had been affording
he/she/it had been affording
we had been affording
you had been affording
they had been affording

Conditional
I would afford
you would afford
he/she/it would afford
we would afford
you would afford
they would afford

Past Conditional
I would have afforded
you would have afforded
he/she/it would have afforded
we would have afforded
you would have afforded
they would have afforded

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	afford - be able to spare or give up; "I can't afford to spend two hours with this person" expend, spend, drop - pay out; "spend money"
	2.	afford - be the cause or source of; "He gave me a lot of trouble"; "Our meeting afforded much interesting information" yield, give open up, open - make available; "This opens up new possibilities" give - cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense; "She gave him a black eye"; "The draft gave me a cold" furnish, provide, supply, render - give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the room with an electrical heater" allow for, allow, provide, leave - make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain; "This leaves no room for improvement"; "The evidence allows only one conclusion"; "allow for mistakes"; "leave lots of time for the trip"; "This procedure provides for lots of leeway"
	3.	afford - 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 - afford access to; "the door opens to the patio"; "The French doors give onto a terrace" open, give

afford

verb

1. have the money for, manage, bear, pay for, spare, stand, stretch to The arts should be available at prices people can afford.

2. bear, stand, sustain, allow yourself We cannot afford to wait.

3. give, offer, provide, produce, supply, grant, yield, render, furnish, bestow, impart The room afforded fine views of the city.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

afford

verb

To make (something) readily available:

extend, offer, provide.

Idiom: place at one's disposal.

Translations

قادِرٌ عَلَى دَفْعِ الـماليَقْدِر عَلَى، يَسْتَطِيع أن

dovolit sidopřát si

have råd til

leisten (sich)sich leisten

έχω τα μέσα

darse el gusto de permitirse poder pagar poder permitirse

olla varaa johonkin

avoir les moyens avoir les moyens de bailler donner pouvoir se permettre

priuštiti

megengedheti magánaktehet

geta leyft sérhafa efni á

permettersi poter disporre di

･･･する余裕がある

...할 여유가 있다

išgalėtileisti sau

atļauties

veroorloven

ha råd til tillate seg

pozwolić sobie (na coś)

pagar ter recursos

иметь возможность

privoščiti si

ha råd med

สามารถหาได้

gücü yetmekbütçesi elvermekelinden gelmekgöze almak

đủ khả năng

付得起担当得起负担得起

afford

[əˈfɔːd] VT

1. (= pay for) we can afford it → podemos permitírnoslo
we can't afford such things → no podemos permitirnos tales cosas, tales cosas no están a nuestro alcance
we can't afford to go on holiday → no podemos permitirnos el lujo de ir de vacaciones
how much can you afford? → ¿cuánto puedes gastar?

2. (= spare, risk) I can't afford the time → no tengo tiempo
I can't afford to be idle → no puedo permitirme el lujo de no hacer nada
I can't afford not to do it → no puedo permitirme el lujo de no hacerlo
we can afford to wait → nos podemos permitir esperar
an opportunity you cannot afford to miss → una ocasión que no puedes desperdiciar
can we afford the risk? → ¿podemos arriesgarnos?

3. (frm) (= provide) [+ opportunity] → proporcionar, dar
it affords shade → da sombra
that afforded me some relief → eso me proporcionó cierto alivio
this affords me a chance to speak → esto me da la oportunidad de hablar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

afford

[əˈfɔː^rd] vt

(financially) [+ goods, clothes, shoes, car] → avoir les moyens d'acheter; [+ holiday] → pouvoir s'offrir; [+ price, rent] → pouvoir payer
I can't afford a new pair of jeans → Je n'ai pas les moyens d'acheter un nouveau jean.
Can we afford a car?
BUT Avons-nous de quoi acheter une voiture?. → Avons-nous les moyens d'acheter une voiture?
We can't afford to go on holiday → Nous ne pouvons pas nous offrir de vacances.

(= permit) [+ behaviour, scandal] → se permettre
to be able to afford to do sth (= permit o.s.) → pouvoir se permettre de faire qch
We can't afford to wait
BUT Nous ne pouvons pas attendre. → Nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre d'attendre.
I can't afford the time
BUT Je n'ai vraiment pas le temps.

(= provide) [+ opportunity] → fournir; [+ pleasure, satisfaction] → procurer; [+ protection] → offrir

afford

→ sich (dat) → leisten; I can’t afford to buy both of them → ich kann es mir nicht leisten, beide zu kaufen; he can’t afford to make a mistake → er kann es sich nicht leisten, einen Fehler zu machen; you can’t afford to miss the chance → Sie können es sich nicht leisten, die Gelegenheit zu verpassen; I can’t afford the time (to do it) → ich habe einfach nicht die Zeit(, das zu tun); an offer you can’t afford to miss → ein Angebot, das Sie sich (dat) → nicht entgehen lassen können; can you afford to go? — I can’t afford not to! → können Sie gehen? — ich kann gar nicht anders

(liter: = provide) (→ jdm etw) → gewähren, bieten; shade → spenden, bieten; pleasure → bereiten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

afford

[əˈfɔːd] vt

a. to afford sth/to do sth → permettersi qc/di fare qc
can we afford a car? → possiamo permetterci un'automobile?
I can't afford the time → non ho proprio il tempo, non ho veramente tempo
I can't afford not to do it → non mi posso permettere di non farlo
an opportunity you cannot afford to miss → un'occasione che non puoi lasciarti sfuggire

b. (frm) (provide, opportunity) → offrire, fornire

afford

(əˈfoːd) verb

1. (usually with can, ~could) to be able to spend money, time etc on or for something. I can't afford (to buy) a new car.

2. (usually with can, ~could) to be able to do (something) without causing oneself trouble, difficulty etc. She can't afford to be rude to her employer no matter how rude he is to her.

afford

→ قادِرٌ عَلَى دَفْعِ الـمال dovolit si have råd til leisten (sich) έχω τα μέσα poder pagar, poder permitirse olla varaa johonkin avoir les moyens de priuštiti (si) permettersi ･･･する余裕がある ...할 여유가 있다 veroorloven ha råd til pozwolić sobie (na coś) pagar, ter recursos иметь возможность ha råd med สามารถหาได้ gücü yetmek đủ khả năng 付得起

afford

vt. poder costear, tener solvencia; soportar.

References in classic literature ?

Had we been alcoholic, we would have drunk whether or not we could have afforded it.

View in context

against it we placed in a sloping direction a number of the half decayed boughs that were strewn about, and covering the whole with twigs and leaves, awaited the morning's light beneath such shelter as it afforded.

View in context

In short, as the Constitution has taken the utmost care that they shall be men of talents and integrity, we have reason to be persuaded that the treaties they make will be as advantageous as, all circumstances considered, could be made; and so far as the fear of punishment and disgrace can operate, that motive to good behavior is amply afforded by the article on the subject of impeachments.

View in context

The two Canadians, Vallee and Le Clerc, killed a young buffalo bull in the evening, which was in good condition, and afforded them a plentiful supply of fresh beef.

The hump meat afforded them a repast fit for an epicure.

View in context

If the chumo is pleased with the treat and present, he will give him a declaration or writing to witness that his ground, which afforded five or six sacks of corn, did you yield so many bushels, and even of this it is the custom to abate something; so that our revenue did not increase in proportion to our lands; and we found ourselves often obliged to buy corn, which, indeed, is not dear, for in fruitful years forty or fifty measures, weighing each about twenty-two pounds, may be purchased for a crown.

View in context

The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions seem still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth.

View in context

Camilla in reply said he could repose more at his ease in the reception-room than in his chair, and begged of him to go in and sleep there; but Lothario declined, and there he remained asleep until the return of Anselmo, who finding Camilla in her own room, and Lothario asleep, imagined that he had stayed away so long as to have afforded them time enough for conversation and even for sleep, and was all impatience until Lothario should wake up, that he might go out with him and question him as to his success.

View in context

If you're a gay or lesbian couple living in California, tax time could bring a reminder of the equality your state has afforded you in law, including joint property and state tax rights.