lion's share

American  

noun

1. the largest part or share, especially a disproportionate portion.

   The eldest son received the lion's share of the estate.

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lion's share Cultural  

1. A disproportionately large segment of the whole: “Though we always divided our winnings, somehow Barton always seemed to end up with the lion's share.”

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lion's share Idioms  

1. The greater part or most of something, as in Whenever they won a doubles match, Ethel claimed the lion's share of the credit, or As usual, Uncle Bob took the lion's share of the cake. This expression alludes to Aesop's fable about a lion, who got all of a kill because its fellow hunters, an ass, fox, and wolf, were afraid to claim their share. [Late 1700s]

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Etymology

Origin of lion's share

First recorded in 1780–90; probably after Aesop's fable in which the lion claimed all the spoils of a hunt

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lion's share

Today, the lion’s share of affordable housing is built by private developers financed by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

The big objection in streaming is that the lion’s share of the money goes to the bigger artists who need it the least.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

“The lion’s share of the gains has been in the technology sector,” Bespoke said, with tech soaring more than 45% since March 30 through Monday.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

The Spanish league, at around £780m, takes up the lion's share.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

In grocery stores, he carefully pocketed canned ravioli, which they split five ways, Zalmai getting the lion’s share.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini