Afford
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /əˈfɔɹd/
- RP IPA: /əˈfÉ”Ëd/
- Rhymes: -É”Ë(ɹ)d
Origin
From Old English aforthen, from Old English ġeforþian, forþian ("to further, accomplish, afford"), from forþ ("forth, forward"). The prefix ġe- has no well defined sense. See forth.
Full definition of 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.I think we can afford the extra hour it will take. We can only afford to buy a small car at the moment.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price Chapter 1, “… We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps ? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic ?...â€
- To offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting, expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury.A affords his goods cheaper than B. A man can afford a sum yearly in charity.
- To give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the natural result, fruit, or issue.Grapes afford wine. Olives afford oil. The earth affords fruit. The sea affords an abundant supply of fish.
- 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.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
- 2012, April 29, Nathan Rabin, TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III†(season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992), Writing a “Treehouse Of Horrorâ€segment has to be both exhilarating and daunting. It’s exhilarating because it affords writers all the freedom in the world.
Usage notes
Sense 1. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See