portion
Americannoun
-
a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.
I read a portion of the manuscript.
- Antonyms:
- whole
-
an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.
He took a large portion of spinach.
- Synonyms:
- ration
-
the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.
-
the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.
-
(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
verb (used with object)
-
to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).
-
to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.
All of his children have been amply portioned.
- Synonyms:
- endow
-
to provide with a lot or fate.
She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.
noun
-
a part of a whole; fraction
-
a part allotted or belonging to a person or group
-
an amount of food served to one person; helping
-
law
-
a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
-
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry
-
-
a person's lot or destiny
verb
-
to divide up; share out
-
to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate
-
law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow
Synonym Usage
See part.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reportionverb (used with object)
-
portionableadjective
-
portionlessadjective
-
unportionableadjective
-
unportionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
portionsimple
-
portionssimple
-
have portionedperfect
-
has portionedperfect
-
am portioningprogressive
-
are portioningprogressive
-
is portioningprogressive
-
have been portioningperfect progressive
-
has been portioningperfect progressive
Past
-
portionedsimple
-
had portionedperfect
-
was portioningprogressive
-
were portioningprogressive
-
had been portioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part
Explanation
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero. Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Vocabulary lists containing portion
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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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:
Of course the movie would be a hit with those who spend a good portion of their time online.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
He said Airbus was ready to join or build a project "where we have a significant portion of the work and the leadership".
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
This year, the upper portion of the river’s watershed in the Rocky Mountains had the least snow on record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Less wary of government than the average American, many Australians find extensive regulatory oversight of those managing a large portion of their future retirement income to be reassuring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Thankfully Matthias noted that she refrained from putting worms and dead insects on his portion.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
There are other funds on the list below with temporary waivers of portions of their expenses.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Unlike in Israel, Witkoff did not have recent business activity in those portions of the world.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Tropical storm conditions will continue spreading across portions of the warning area later today through Wednesday," the NHC's latest advisory said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Over time, portions of that gas cool, become unstable, and collapse into thin filaments.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Food might be a tad skimpy in the portions, and I believe she had a prejudice against butter, she used so little of it in her cakes.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Each packet contains portioned servings of peeled, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes that have then been frozen.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025
Not too salty, not too sweet, each bento box is carefully portioned by food group to meet federal nutrition standards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2024
Fights with spouses or partners if meals aren’t portioned equally, or panic that a family member might eat the last of a favorite food — even though they’re able to go get more.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
The FMD is comprised of plant-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chip snacks, and tea portioned out for 5 days as well as a supplement providing high levels of minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024
Kimki portioned work for each one in the tribe, giving Ulape and me the task of gathering abalones.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
The precise portioning of the secret ingredients, matching the ratios of the founder’s original formula, happens in a room locked off from employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a "skilled butcher", and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
China said it would be conducting live-fire drills on Tuesday, portioning out seven zones for the operations in the waters around Taiwan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“We know that portioning is a core equity of ours in the organization,” Boatwright said Tuesday.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2024
He assumed an air of complete detachment in the portioning of the dish; but, at the same time, managed to supply himself liberally.
From The Three Black Pennys A Novel by Hergesheimer, Joseph
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.
