Definition of "afford" []

• To have the financial means for; bear the cost of: not able to afford a new car. (verb-transitive)
• To manage to spare or give up: can't afford an hour for lunch. (verb-transitive)
• To manage or bear without disadvantage or risk to oneself: can afford to be tolerant. (verb-transitive)
• To make available; provide: a sport affording good exercise; a tree that affords ample shade. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The one thing we certainly cannot afford is leaving the control frauds under the control of fraudulent CEOs."
• "When you are already working with limited space, one thing you surely cannot afford is a reduction in the existing floor space."
• "If the government would raise the minimum wage to a decent amount mothers can once again afford to stay home with their children while the father works."