portion
Americannoun
-
portions
plural
-
a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.
I read a portion of the manuscript.
- Antonyms:
- whole
-
an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.
He took a large portion of spinach.
- Synonyms:
- ration
-
the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.
-
the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.
-
(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
verb (used with object)
-
portions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
portioned,
past participle, past
-
portioning
present participle
-
to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).
-
to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.
All of his children have been amply portioned.
- Synonyms:
- endow
-
to provide with a lot or fate.
She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.
noun
-
a part of a whole; fraction
-
a part allotted or belonging to a person or group
-
an amount of food served to one person; helping
-
law
-
a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
-
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry
-
-
a person's lot or destiny
verb
-
to divide up; share out
-
to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate
-
law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow
Synonym Usage
See part.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reportionverb (used with object)
-
portionableadjective
-
portionlessadjective
-
unportionableadjective
-
unportionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
portionsimple
-
portionssimple
-
have portionedperfect
-
has portionedperfect
-
am portioningprogressive
-
are portioningprogressive
-
is portioningprogressive
-
have been portioningperfect progressive
-
has been portioningperfect progressive
Past
-
portionedsimple
-
had portionedperfect
-
was portioningprogressive
-
were portioningprogressive
-
had been portioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part
Explanation
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero. Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Vocabulary lists containing portion
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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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:
A portion of their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity below.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Technology stocks are approaching their peak as a portion of the S&P 500, which could portend some rough months ahead.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
A portion of its data is used alongside consumer-inflation numbers to calculate the price index of personal-consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation metric.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The finding revealed a previously unrecognized mechanism through which abnormal cancer cells can promote tumor growth, even when they account for only a small portion of the tumor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
She had flown over a portion of the forest to a cliff, which led down to a sandy cove where boats often moored.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Regardless of its exact path, large ocean swells generated by the hurricane were expected to create hazardous conditions along portions of Mexico's southwestern and west-central coastlines in the following days.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Much subsequent conversation has focused on whether companies that receive tariff refunds would cut prices, but some recipients have told investors that portions will go toward promotions and brand investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Social posts predicted “the beginning of the end,” along with smaller portions and worse food.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
But this year, portions of the river have been transformed into stretches of dry sand and gravel, while farmers have kept hayfields green by running their wells and pumps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
My brothers made exclamations of appreciation and fell on their portions like hungry dogs.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Howrey’s own politics are here — feminist, environmentalist, activist — but believably portioned out to her characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Meal-kit companies typically sell recipes and ready-to-cook portioned ingredients that are sent to customers’ residences, pitching easy, healthy, home-cooked meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
These chewy, rich mini brownies are perfectly portioned for late-night cravings, and the individual packaging makes them easy to stash in your bag — or next to your bed.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
Fights with spouses or partners if meals aren’t portioned equally, or panic that a family member might eat the last of a favorite food — even though they’re able to go get more.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
Kimki portioned work for each one in the tribe, giving Ulape and me the task of gathering abalones.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
The precise portioning of the secret ingredients, matching the ratios of the founder’s original formula, happens in a room locked off from employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
He said police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a skilled butcher and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026
China said it would be conducting live-fire drills on Tuesday, portioning out seven zones for the operations in the waters around Taiwan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
But perhaps the most important factor for fitting desserts into your life more healthfully is the smart-size portioning built into these bars.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022
Here it will be noticed that we find the real meaning of those words about a man's duty of portioning out readily to another's use what belongs to himself.
From Mediaeval Socialism by Bede Jarrett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
