- 1 [no passive] (usually used with can, could or be able to, especially in negative sentences or questions) to have enough money or time to be able to buy or to do something afford something Can we afford a new car? None of them could afford £50 for a ticket. She felt she couldn't afford any more time off work. I’d give up work if I could afford it. afford to do something We can't afford to go abroad this summer. She never took a taxi, even though she could afford to. afford something to do something He couldn't afford the money to go on the trip. Wordfindermoneyafford, bank, bankrupt, capital, economy, expense, finance, invest, money, profit Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbeasily, well, barely, … verb + affordbe able to, can, be unable to, … See full entry
- 2 [no passive] (usually used with can or could, especially in negative sentences and questions) if you say that you can’t afford to do something, you mean that you should not do it because it will cause problems for you if you do afford to do something We cannot afford to ignore this warning. (formal) They could ill afford to lose any more staff. afford something We cannot afford any more delays.
- 3(formal) to provide somebody with something afford something The tree affords some shelter from the sun. The legislation aims to afford protection to employees. afford somebody something The programme affords young people the chance to gain work experience. More Like This Verbs usually followed by infinitives afford, agree, appear, arrange, attempt, beg, choose, consent, decide, expect, fail, happen, hesitate, hope, intend, learn, manage, mean, neglect, offer, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, swear, try, want, wishSee worksheet. Word Originlate Old English geforthian, from ge- (prefix implying completeness) + forthian ‘to further’, from forth. The original sense was ‘promote, perform, accomplish’, later ‘manage, be in a position to do’.Extra examples I couldn’t possibly afford to eat in that restaurant. She can well afford to pay for herself. We can afford to go to Miami this year. an amount which we could ill afford to pay
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BrE BrE//əˈfɔːd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrd//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they afford BrE BrE//əˈfɔːd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrd//
he / she / it affords BrE BrE//əˈfɔːdz//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrdz//
past simple afforded BrE BrE//əˈfɔːdɪd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrdɪd//
past participle afforded BrE BrE//əˈfɔːdɪd//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrdɪd//
-ing form affording BrE BrE//əˈfɔːdɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//əˈfɔːrdɪŋ//
Check pronunciation: afford
