apportion
Americanverb (used with object)
-
apportions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
apportioned,
past participle, past
-
apportioning
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
apportionsimple
-
apportionssimple
-
have apportionedperfect
-
has apportionedperfect
-
am apportioningprogressive
-
are apportioningprogressive
-
is apportioningprogressive
-
have been apportioningperfect progressive
-
has been apportioningperfect progressive
Past
-
apportionedsimple
-
had apportionedperfect
-
was apportioningprogressive
-
were apportioningprogressive
-
had been apportioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of apportion
1565–75; < Middle French apportionner, equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + portionner to portion
Explanation
To apportion is to divide something into shares and hand it out. With 11 guests at your birthday party, it makes sense to cut the cake into 12 slices and apportion one to each — leaving one slice for you! The verb apportion means "allocate" or "divvy up," and it's often used to talk about the way money is distributed. For example, your parents might evenly apportion an allowance to each of their children, or apportion slightly less money to your youngest sibling. In government, power is also apportioned in various ways, as when laws apportion a certain number of congressional representatives to each state.
Vocabulary lists containing apportion
The Legislative Branch, Sections 1–3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
In the Shadow of Liberty
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She taught them about the matching system and how to apportion their savings to get the most out of it.
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
But it’s hard if not impossible to prove that social media caused any given individual’s troubles, let alone apportion liability among the platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
An FAI is a public examination of the circumstances of a death in the public interest before a sheriff, which does not apportion blame or fault.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025
Those on both sides say they are willing to continue trying to reach a deal on how to apportion cutbacks in water use after 2026, when the current rules expire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2024
Rationales for still other ways to apportion the money are possible.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
In Washington, a bipartisan commission apportions the congressional and legislative districts.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 20, 2023
This includes Barclays, which apportions 33% of the capital markets financing to the bank and the rest to investors.
From Reuters ● Mar. 24, 2023
The Colorado River Compact, signed a century ago last fall, only apportions water between two basins, the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
And it apportions $47 billion to respond to wildfires, droughts, coastal erosion, heat waves and other climate crises that previously have wrought significant economic havoc nationwide.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2021
Mqhayi then began to recite his well-known poem in which he apportions the stars in the heavens to the various nations of the world.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“Grand homes were simply apportioned room by room to different families,” said Arcos of the Institute for Cuban Studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Because of that distrust, the founders carefully apportioned responsibility over the “militia” — today’s National Guard — between the federal government and the states.
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2025
A chunk of blame is being apportioned to the chancellor's fiscal rules – and to the chancellor herself.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2025
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is measured with sensors and aerial images, reservoir levels are electronically logged, and the movement of water through aqueducts is apportioned based on rights and contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
Between them they apportioned their mother’s seven silver stretch marks.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
He shows her ideas taking shape at desks where classifications opened or foreclosed futures, within organizations charged with apportioning the remnants of an inheritance among the living.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Without apportioning blame, the head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, warned of the safety risks of such attacks.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2024
But as the warming climate intensifies the state’s cycles of flood and drought, its system for apportioning water is under strain.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
The upcoming negotiations will also involve questions about how the current system of managing dams and apportioning water can be revamped to adapt to climate change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
Ernest drew up a preliminary list of first-year grants covering almost every cyclotron in the country save his own, apportioning $10,000 each for Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Michigan, and Princeton.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
