portion

[ pawr-shuhn, pohr- ]
See synonyms for portion on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it: I read a portion of the manuscript.

  2. an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping: He took a large portion of spinach.

  1. the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.

  2. the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.

  3. Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.

  4. (especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.

verb (used with object)
  1. to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed by out).

  2. to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry: All of his children have been amply portioned.

  1. to provide with a lot or fate: She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.

Origin of portion

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō) “share, part,” akin to parspart

synonym study For portion

1. See part.

Other words for portion

Opposites for portion

Other words from portion

  • por·tion·a·ble, adjective
  • por·tion·less, adjective
  • re·por·tion, verb (used with object)
  • un·por·tion·a·ble, adjective
  • un·por·tioned, adjective

Words that may be confused with portion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use portion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for portion

portion

/ (ˈpɔːʃən) /


noun
  1. a part of a whole; fraction

  2. a part allotted or belonging to a person or group

  1. an amount of food served to one person; helping

  2. 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

  3. a person's lot or destiny

verb(tr)
  1. to divide up; share out

  2. to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate

  1. law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow

Origin of portion

1
C13: via Old French from Latin portiō portion, allocation; related to pars part

Derived forms of portion

  • portionless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012