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apportion

[uh-pawr-shuh n, uh-pohr-]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to distribute or allocate proportionally; divide and assign according to some rule of proportional distribution: to apportion expenses among the three men.
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Origin of apportion

1565–75; < Middle French apportionner, equivalent to ap- ap-1 + portionner to portion
Related formsap·por·tion·a·ble, adjectiveap·por·tion·er, nounnon·ap·por·tion·a·ble, adjectiveun·ap·por·tioned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for apportion

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • By its aid, I could apportion the life-time of any mortal at whom you might point your finger.

  • It is easier of digestion and easier to apportion in uniform rations.

  • "So apportion your wants that your means may exceed them," says Bulwer.

    How to Succeed

    Orison Swett Marden

  • It is not for any of us to think of attempting to apportion the blame.

  • By its aid I could apportion the lifetime of any mortal at whom you might point your finger.

    The Short-story

    William Patterson Atkinson

British Dictionary definitions for apportion

apportion

verb
  1. (tr) to divide, distribute, or assign appropriate shares of; allot proportionallyto apportion the blame
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Derived Formsapportionable, adjectiveapportioner, noun
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

Word Origin and History for apportion

v.

1570s, from Middle French apportionner, from Old French aporcioner "apportion, share out," from a- "to" (see ad-) + portioner "to divide into portions," from portion "share, portion" (see portion). Related: Apportioned; apportioning.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper