afford
verb
af·ford
| \ ə-ˈfȯrd
\
\
afforded;
affording;
affords
Definition of afford
1a
: to manage to bear without serious detriment
You can't afford to neglect your health.
b
: to be able to bear the cost of
can't afford to be out of work long
2
: to make available, give forth, or provide naturally or inevitably
The sun affords warmth to the earth. a delay that will afford us more time
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Examples of afford in a Sentence
We were too poor to afford a doctor.
He'll be able to afford a house next year.
Don't spend more than you can afford.
They couldn't afford new coats for the children.
We can afford waiting a while longer.
All of the rooms afford views of the lake.
He was afforded the opportunity to work for a judge.
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Recent Examples on the Web
As an Avenger and Fantastic Four substitute, She-Hulk enjoyed the positive attention rarely afforded to Banner. — Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, "How 'She-Hulk' Solves a Longtime Marvel Problem," 30 Aug. 2019 The race is on to see which candidate can be the first to promise more than $100 trillion in spending the government can’t afford. — Michael Tanner, National Review, "The Moral Dimension to Our National Debt," 28 Aug. 2019 The last player the Miami Marlins could afford to lose, Brian Anderson is likely done for the season after fracturing his left hand in Friday night’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies. — Wells Dusenbury, sun-sentinel.com, "Marlins HR leader Brian Anderson likely done for season after fracturing left hand," 24 Aug. 2019 The program was championed by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who said at the time of its passage that hundreds of unauthorized immigrants living in Portland faced deportation and could not afford lawyers. — oregonlive.com, "Roughly 450 migrants received free legal help from Portland to fight deportation, seek asylum," 21 Aug. 2019 Superintendent Joe Gothard and school board chairwoman Zuki Ellis said in July that the district couldn’t afford the penalty. — Josh Verges, Twin Cities, "St. Paul school district threatens to sue teachers over health insurance, rejecting ‘bad-faith’ compromise," 17 Aug. 2019 His family struggled and couldn't afford new shoes. — Karen Pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "German solider captured after the Battle of the Bulge remembered for living the American dream," 15 Aug. 2019 Ngi, who hopes to use his English to work at a Tijuana call center even though his 20-day transit permit through Mexico expired, shared a two-bedroom apartment with seven others but couldn't afford his roughly $50 share of monthly rent. — Elliot Spagat, Fortune, "40,000 Migrants Are Now Waiting at the U.S. Border," 8 Aug. 2019 Such a facility would leave out Longmont kids whose families couldn’t afford to go there, Vela argued. — John Fryar, The Denver Post, "Longmont City Council OKs putting taxes, bonds for aquatics center on ballot," 31 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'afford.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for afford
afford
verb
English Language Learners Definition of afford
: to be able to pay for (something)
: to be able to do (something) without having problems or being seriously harmed
formal
: to supply or provide (something needed or wanted) to someone
See the full definition for afford in the English Language Learners Dictionary
afford
verb
af·ford
| \ ə-ˈfȯrd
\
\
afforded;
affording
Kids Definition of afford
1
: to be able to do or bear without serious harm
You cannot afford to waste your strength.
2
: to be able to pay for
I can't afford a new car.
3
: to supply or provide someone with
Tennis affords good exercise.
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