afford

verb
🔊/əˈfɔːd/
🔊/əˈfɔːrd/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they afford
🔊/əˈfɔːd/
🔊/əˈfɔːrd/
he / she / it affords
🔊/əˈfɔːdz/
🔊/əˈfɔːrdz/
past simple afforded
🔊/əˈfɔːdɪd/
🔊/əˈfɔːrdɪd/
past participle afforded
🔊/əˈfɔːdɪd/
🔊/əˈfɔːrdɪd/
-ing form affording
🔊/əˈfɔːdɪŋ/
🔊/əˈfɔːrdɪŋ/
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  1. [no passive] (usually used with can, could or be able to, especially in negative sentences or questions通常与 can、could 或 be able to 连用,尤用于否定句或疑问句) to have enough money to be able to buy or do something买得起;(有时间)做,能做
    • afford something Can we afford a new car?我们买得起一辆新车吗?🔊🔊
    • None of them could afford £50 for a ticket.他们中没有哪个拿得出 50 英镑买一张票。🔊🔊
    • I’d give up work if I could afford it.如果我负担得起的话,我会放弃工作。
    • afford to do something We can't afford to go abroad this summer.今年夏天我们没有足够的钱去国外。🔊🔊
    • She never took a taxi, even though she could afford to.尽管她坐得起出租汽车,但她从来不坐。🔊🔊
    • She can well afford to pay for herself.她自己完全能够付得起钱。
    • They couldn't afford to buy a house there.他们买不起那里的房子。
    • We can't afford to have children.我们负担不起孩子。
    • afford something to do something He couldn't afford the money to go on the trip.这次旅行他钱不够。🔊🔊
    Extra Examples
    • I couldn't possibly afford to eat in that restaurant.那家饭馆我根本吃不起。
    • We can afford to go to Miami this year.我们今年有足够的钱去迈阿密。
    Topics Shoppingb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • easily
    • well
    • barely
    verb + afford
    • be able to
    • can
    • be unable to
    See full entry
  2. [no passive] (usually used with can or could, especially in negative sentences and questions通常与 can 或 could 连用,尤用于否定句或疑问句) 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承担得起(后果)
    • afford to do something We cannot afford to ignore this warning.我们对这个警告绝不能等闲视之。🔊🔊
    • (formal) They could ill afford to lose any more staff.他们再也不能损失员工了。🔊🔊
    • The people who suffer most are those who can least afford to lose.遭受最大痛苦的人是那些承受不起损失的人。
    • We simply can't afford to take any risks. 我们根本承担不起任何风险。
    • afford something She felt she couldn't afford any more time off work.她觉得再也抽不出时间歇班了。🔊🔊
    • We cannot afford any more delays.我们不能再有任何耽搁了。🔊🔊
  3. (formal) to provide somebody with something提供;给予
    • afford something The tree affords some shelter from the sun.这棵树可以挡一挡太阳。🔊🔊
    • The legislation aims to afford protection to employees.该立法旨在为雇员提供保护。
    • afford somebody something Being a college professor affords you the opportunity simply to write and do research.作为大学教授,您可以简单地撰写和进行研究。
    • The programme affords young people the chance to gain work experience.这项计划给年轻人提供了获得工作经验的机会。🔊🔊
  4. 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’.