allocate
allocate — verb
1. to formally decide that a portion of money, time, space, or staff will go to a p
to formally decide that a portion of money, time, space, or staff will go to a particular person, group, or use, usually as part of a larger plan.
The Taipei City Council allocated NT$50 million to repair flood-damaged roads in Wenshan District.
allocate + amount + to + purpose
Each student is allocated a small locker near the science lab on the first day of term.
passive: be allocated + something
Mr. Lin allocates two hours every morning to answering emails before any meetings start.
The hospital has allocated three nurses to the new children's ward on the fourth floor.
Funds from the charity concert were allocated for rebuilding schools in remote villages.
- assign
broader; can refer to tasks, people, or roles, not just resources
- earmark
stresses that the resource is set aside in advance and cannot be used for anything else
- apportion
more formal; emphasises dividing a total into fair or proportional shares
- designate
focuses on labelling something for a specific role, not on dividing a quantity
- withhold
to keep back resources rather than handing them over
文法句型
allocate + something + to + somebody/something
allocate + somebody/something + something
allocate + something + for + purpose
用法筆記
Subject is usually an institution, government, or person in authority — not a casual individual. The thing allocated is normally a limited resource (money, time, space, staff, seats), and there is almost always a stated recipient or purpose. Distinguish from 'distribute', which simply means to hand out without the planning nuance.