quota

[kwoh-tuh]

noun

1. the share or proportional part of a total that is required from, or is due or belongs to, a particular district, state, person, group, etc.

   Synonyms: allocation, apportionment, allotment

2. a proportional part or share of a fixed total amount or quantity.

3. the number or percentage of persons of a specified kind permitted to enroll in a college, join a club, immigrate to a country, etc.

quota

/ ˈkwəʊtə /

noun

1. the proportional share or part of a whole that is due from, due to, or allocated to a person or group

2. a prescribed number or quantity, as of items to be manufactured, imported, or exported, immigrants admitted to a country, or students admitted to a college

Word History and Origins

Origin of quota¹

1660–70; < Medieval Latin, short for Latin quota pars how great a part?

Word History and Origins

Origin of quota¹

C17: from Latin quota pars how big a share?, from quotus of what number

Example Sentences

The European Union’s top trade officials are proposing a 50% tariff on steel imports above a certain quota as the bloc moves to shield its struggling sector from overcapacity.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Simultaneously, broad nativist fear of immigrants, and their labor, led to 1921 and 1924 acts creating restrictive quota systems basically eliminating immigration from anywhere but northwest Europe and the New World.

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The move builds on earlier decisions by the Vienna-based cartel to unwind a layer of production quota curbs totaling roughly 1.65 million barrels a day, which was first implemented in 2023.

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However, there were no quotas for female lawmakers, nor for those from the country's many ethnic and religious minorities.

Read more on BBC

But there were no minimum quotas for female lawmakers, nor for those from the country's many ethnic and religious minorities.

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Related Words

• allocation 
• allotment 
• allowance 
• measure