portfolio

American  

[pawrt-foh-lee-oh, pohrt-] / pɔrtˈfoʊ liˌoʊ, poʊrt- /

noun

portfolios plural

1. a flat, portable case for carrying loose papers, drawings, etc.

2. such a case for carrying documents of a government department.

3. the total holdings of the securities, commercial paper, etc., of a financial institution or private investor.

4. the office or post of a minister of state or member of a cabinet.

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portfolio British  

/ pɔːtˈfəʊlɪəʊ /

noun

1. a flat case, esp of leather, used for carrying maps, drawings, etc

2. the contents of such a case, such as drawings, paintings, or photographs, that demonstrate recent work

   an art student's portfolio

3. such a case used for carrying ministerial or state papers

4. the responsibilities or role of the head of a government department

   the portfolio for foreign affairs

5. a cabinet minister who is not responsible for any government department

6. the complete investments held by an individual investor or by a financial organization

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• portfolios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of portfolio

1715–25; < Italian portafoglio, equivalent to porta-, stem of portare to carry (< Latin portāre ) + foglio leaf, sheet (< Latin folium; see foil ²)

Explanation

A portfolio is a large, flat briefcase used to hold papers and other loose materials, like maps or artwork. A portfolio is usually used to transport important documents, like examples of your graphic design work if you’re an artist. The noun portfolio has its roots in the similarly-sounding Latin portafoglio “a case for carrying loose papers.” Notice, within that word, two other words — there’s porta, meaning “carry,” and foglio, meaning “sheet, leaf.” In English, think portable folio, or papers that can be carried. Also, portfolio can refer to the duties of a government official or the collection of investments held by a financial company.

Example Sentences

Spanish investor Global Portfolio Investments committed to invest 100 million euros in the offering under certain conditions, Digi said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

The study was published in Communications Materials, an open-access journal from Nature Portfolio.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026

In the Fix My Portfolio column, Beth Pinsker explained what you need to consider when deciding on a Roth IRA conversion.

From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026

“For me, the most important data point was the purge External link of the highest levels of China’s military a couple months ago,” said Arjun Jayaraman, Quantitative Portfolio Manager at Causeway Capital Management.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

In addition to the Portfolio we send the Topical Index and Plan of Study described above.

From The Mayflower, January, 1905 by Various