apportion
Americanverb (used with object)
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apportions,
present (3rd person singular)
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apportioned,
past participle, past
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apportioning
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
apportionsimple
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apportionssimple
-
have apportionedperfect
-
has apportionedperfect
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am apportioningprogressive
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are apportioningprogressive
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is apportioningprogressive
-
have been apportioningperfect progressive
-
has been apportioningperfect progressive
Past
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apportionedsimple
-
had apportionedperfect
-
was apportioningprogressive
-
were apportioningprogressive
-
had been apportioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of apportion
1565–75; < Middle French apportionner, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + portionner to portion
Explanation
To apportion is to divide something into shares and hand it out. With 11 guests at your birthday party, it makes sense to cut the cake into 12 slices and apportion one to each — leaving one slice for you! The verb apportion means "allocate" or "divvy up," and it's often used to talk about the way money is distributed. For example, your parents might evenly apportion an allowance to each of their children, or apportion slightly less money to your youngest sibling. In government, power is also apportioned in various ways, as when laws apportion a certain number of congressional representatives to each state.
Vocabulary lists containing apportion
The Legislative Branch, Sections 1–3
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In the Shadow of Liberty
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She taught them about the matching system and how to apportion their savings to get the most out of it.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
But it’s hard if not impossible to prove that social media caused any given individual’s troubles, let alone apportion liability among the platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
Lord Adebowale is not naming the NHS service involved in her care, saying he does not want to apportion individual blame, as his mother's experience was symbolic of a wider problem.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2025
Those on both sides say they are willing to continue trying to reach a deal on how to apportion cutbacks in water use after 2026, when the current rules expire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2024
Rationales for still other ways to apportion the money are possible.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
In Washington, a bipartisan commission apportions the congressional and legislative districts.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 20, 2023
The Colorado River Compact, signed a century ago last fall, only apportions water between two basins, the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a $1 trillion infrastructure package in a 69-30 vote that apportions billions of dollars for building new transmission lines, public transit and electric-car charging stations.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2021
Valladares calculates his savings might last six months, if he walks everywhere instead of spending three dollars on bus fare and buys frozen chicken drumsticks in bulk and apportions them out weekly.
From Reuters ● Oct. 13, 2020
Mqhayi then began to recite his well-known poem in which he apportions the stars in the heavens to the various nations of the world.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“Grand homes were simply apportioned room by room to different families,” said Arcos of the Institute for Cuban Studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Because of that distrust, the founders carefully apportioned responsibility over the “militia” — today’s National Guard — between the federal government and the states.
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2025
"And very odd, frankly, from a GP who should be looking after patients in a very reasonable, apportioned way."
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2025
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is measured with sensors and aerial images, reservoir levels are electronically logged, and the movement of water through aqueducts is apportioned based on rights and contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
So many opportunities in this country are apportioned in this arbitrary and miserly way, distributed to those who already have the benefit of a privileged legacy.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
He shows her ideas taking shape at desks where classifications opened or foreclosed futures, within organizations charged with apportioning the remnants of an inheritance among the living.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
She said it was not about "apportioning blame or fuelling anger, but about establishing the truth".
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
The White House says it intends to replace the current system, a random lottery apportioning available H-1B slots among all applicants, with one favoring applications to fill the highest-paid slots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
Without apportioning blame, the head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, warned of the safety risks of such attacks.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2024
“There is no point apportioning blame,” said Snape smoothly.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
