allowable
allowable — adjective
1. officially permitted under the regulations or laws that govern a specific activi
officially permitted under the regulations or laws that govern a specific activity, often with a stated upper or lower limit.
The maximum allowable speed inside the school zone is 30 kilometres per hour.
collocation: maximum allowable + noun for stated limits
Each climber must carry no more than the allowable weight set by the park rangers.
allowable + noun (weight, level, limit)
Coach Pereira reminded the team that two substitutions per half are the only allowable changes.
Factories near the river must keep waste below the allowable limit set by the city council.
Under the new safety code, only fire-resistant materials are allowable inside the kitchen walls.
- permissible
very close in meaning; slightly more formal and common in legal writing
- permitted
more neutral; describes a specific act rather than a general category
- acceptable
broader; can refer to social or moral approval, not just rules
- forbidden
stronger; suggests an explicit ban
- prohibited
formal counterpart used in laws and notices
文法句型
allowable + noun (limit, level, speed)
maximum/minimum allowable + noun
用法筆記
Frequently appears with quantitative nouns (limit, level, amount, speed, weight) and is often paired with maximum or minimum. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense covers any rule-based permission, while sense 2 is narrowly about money that escapes tax.
常見錯誤
2. describing money — usually business expenses or deductions — that the tax author
describing money — usually business expenses or deductions — that the tax authority lets you subtract from your income before tax is calculated.
Travel between client sites counts as an allowable expense for self-employed designers like Ines.
collocation: allowable expense in tax contexts
The accountant explained which office costs are allowable when Daniel files his yearly tax return.
predicate use: [costs] are allowable
Charity donations are often allowable, so keep every receipt the temple gives you.
Home-office costs are allowable, so Priya can subtract them from her tax bill this year.
- deductible
near-perfect match in tax contexts; even more specific to subtraction from taxable income
- tax-deductible
compound form often preferred in everyday financial talk
- non-deductible
expenses that the tax authority refuses to recognise
- taxable
describes income or items that are charged tax, not subtracted from it
文法句型
allowable + noun (expenses, deduction, costs)
tax-allowable + noun
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a type of cost, expense, donation, or deduction. Distinguish from sense 1: here the 'rules' are specifically tax rules, and the effect is reducing taxable income, not granting general permission.