Meaning of 'afford' (Webster Dictionary)
- To give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the
natural result, fruit, or issue; as, grapes afford wine; olives afford
oil; the earth affords fruit; the sea affords an abundant supply of
fish.
- To give, grant, or confer, with a remoter reference to
its being the natural result; to provide; to furnish; as, a good life
affords consolation in old age.
- To offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting,
expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury; as, A
affords his goods cheaper than B; a man can afford a sum yearly in
charity.
- To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as
an act which might under other circumstances be injurious; -- with an
auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough.
Meaning of 'afford' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- have the financial means to do something or buy something
Example in sentence:- Can you afford this car?;
- We can't afford to send our children to college
Meaning (2):
- be the cause or source of
Example in sentence:- He gave me a lot of trouble;
- Our meeting afforded much interesting information
Meaning (3):
- be able to spare or give up
Example in sentence:- I can't afford to spend two hours with this person
Meaning (4):
- afford access to
Example in sentence:- the door opens to the patio;
- The French doors give onto a terrace
Definition
[ v. t.]