/əˈlaʊ ||; əˈlaυ/verb[T] 1 allow sb/sth to do sth;allow sth to give permission for sb/sth to do sth or for sth to happen 允许: Children under eighteen are not allowed to buy alcohol. 十八岁以下的孩子不准购买酒精饮料。I'm afraid we don't allow people to bring dogs into this restaurant. 对不起，带狗不能进本餐厅。Photography is not allowed inside the cathedral. 大教堂内不准拍照。
Compare allow, permit and let. Allow can be used in both formal and informal English. The passive form be allowed to is especially common. Permit is a formal word and is usually used only in written English. Let is an informal word, and very common in spoken English. You allow sb to do sth but let sb do sth (no ‘to’). Let cannot be used in the passive Visitors are not allowed/permitted to smoke in this area. Smoking is not allowed/permitted. I'm not allowed to smoke in my bedroom. My dad won't let me smoke in my bedroom. 比较 allow、permit 及 let。allow 可以用于正式或非正式场合。被动式 be allowed to 尤其常用。permit 用于正式场合，通常只作书面语。let 用于非正式场合，常用于口语。我们说 allow sb to do sth，但 let sb do sth（不用to）。let 不用于被动语态：Visitors are not allowed／permitted to smoke in this area. 访客不得在这个范围内抽烟。Smoking is not allowed／permitted. 不准吸烟。I'm not allowed to smoke in my bedroom. 我在卧房内不可以抽烟。My Dad won't let me smoke in my bedroom. 我爸爸不让我在卧房内抽烟。 2 to give permission for sb/sth to be or go somewhere 准许（在或前往某处）: No dogs allowed. 不得携犬入内。I'm only allowed out on Friday and Saturday nights. 我只有星期五、星期六晚上才可以出去。
3 allow sb sth to let sb have sth 赋予；给与；允许: My contract allows me four weeks' holiday a year. 根据合约，我每年有四个星期假期。
4 allow sb/sth to do sth to make it possible for sb/sth to do sth 使…可以做某事: Working part-time would allow me to spend more time with my family. 非全日工作使我有多点时间跟家人相聚。
5 allow sth (for sb/sth) to provide money, time, etc for sb/sth 提供，拨出（金钱、时间等）: You should allow about 30 minutes for each question. 每道试题你大约要给30分钟做。
allow for sb/sth to think about possible problems when you are planning sth and include extra time, money, etc for them 顾及；考虑到；把…计算在内:
The journey should take about two hours, allowing for heavy traffic. 把交通繁忙的因素计算在内的话，整个旅程需时两个小时左右。