portfolio

American  

[pawrt-foh-lee-oh, pohrt-] / pɔrtˈfoʊ liˌoʊ, poʊrt- /

noun

portfolios plural

1. a flat, portable case for carrying loose papers, drawings, etc.

2. such a case for carrying documents of a government department.

3. the total holdings of the securities, commercial paper, etc., of a financial institution or private investor.

4. the office or post of a minister of state or member of a cabinet.

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portfolio British  

/ pɔːtˈfəʊlɪəʊ /

noun

1. a flat case, esp of leather, used for carrying maps, drawings, etc

2. the contents of such a case, such as drawings, paintings, or photographs, that demonstrate recent work

   an art student's portfolio

3. such a case used for carrying ministerial or state papers

4. the responsibilities or role of the head of a government department

   the portfolio for foreign affairs

5. a cabinet minister who is not responsible for any government department

6. the complete investments held by an individual investor or by a financial organization

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• portfolios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of portfolio

1715–25; < Italian portafoglio, equivalent to porta-, stem of portare to carry (< Latin portāre ) + foglio leaf, sheet (< Latin folium; see foil ²)

Explanation

A portfolio is a large, flat briefcase used to hold papers and other loose materials, like maps or artwork. A portfolio is usually used to transport important documents, like examples of your graphic design work if you’re an artist. The noun portfolio has its roots in the similarly-sounding Latin portafoglio “a case for carrying loose papers.” Notice, within that word, two other words — there’s porta, meaning “carry,” and foglio, meaning “sheet, leaf.” In English, think portable folio, or papers that can be carried. Also, portfolio can refer to the duties of a government official or the collection of investments held by a financial company.

Example Sentences

June, whose portfolio leans heavily toward tech giants such as Apple, Oracle and Intel, is one of those vying for SpaceX shares.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

CEO Philipp Navratil is streamlining Nestlé’s portfolio to focus on core areas like coffee and petcare, planning 16,000 job cuts, and aiming for 3% to 4% organic growth.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

This means the closed-end fund manager’s portfolio decisions can be made independently of day-to-day buying and selling action for the fund’s shares.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

Its portfolio includes RegisterBlast, an exam-registration platform for testing centers and universities, and E2E Soccer, a management software for youth soccer programs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

In a portfolio of $555 million, he had laid $1.9 billion of these peculiar bets—bets that should be paying off but were not.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis