proportion
Americannoun
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proportions
plural
-
comparative relation between things or magnitudes as to size, quantity, number, etc.; ratio.
- Synonyms:
- comparison
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proper relation between things or parts.
to have tastes way out of proportion to one's financial means.
-
relative size or extent.
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proportions, dimensions or size.
a rock of gigantic proportions.
-
a portion or part in its relation to the whole.
A large proportion of the debt remains.
- Synonyms:
- share
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symmetry, harmony, or balance.
an architect with a sense of proportion.
- Synonyms:
- arrangement, distribution
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the significance of a thing or event that an objective view reveals.
You must try to see these mishaps in proportion.
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Mathematics. a relation of four quantities such that the first divided by the second is equal to the third divided by the fourth; the equality of ratios.
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Archaic. analogy; comparison.
noun
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the relationship between different things or parts with respect to comparative size, number, or degree; relative magnitude or extent; ratio
-
the correct or desirable relationship between parts of a whole; balance or symmetry
-
a part considered with respect to the whole
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(plural) dimensions or size
a building of vast proportions
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a share, part, or quota
-
maths a relationship that maintains a constant ratio between two variable quantities
x increases in direct proportion to y
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maths a relationship between four numbers or quantities in which the ratio of the first pair equals the ratio of the second pair
verb
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to adjust in relative amount, size, etc
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to cause to be harmonious in relationship of parts
Synonym Usage
See symmetry.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misproportionnoun
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proportionabilitynoun
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proportionernoun
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proportionmentnoun
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superproportionnoun
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reproportionverb (used with object)
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proportionableadjective
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proportionlessadjective
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proportionablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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proportionsimple
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proportionssimple
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have proportionedperfect
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has proportionedperfect
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am proportioningprogressive
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are proportioningprogressive
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is proportioningprogressive
-
have been proportioningperfect progressive
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has been proportioningperfect progressive
Past
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proportionedsimple
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had proportionedperfect
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was proportioningprogressive
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were proportioningprogressive
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had been proportioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of proportion
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English proporcio(u)n from Latin prōportiōn-, stem of prōportiō “symmetry, analogy”; equivalent to pro- 1 + portion
Explanation
Proportion is about balance and how things fit together harmoniously. For example "That hound dog's tiny legs look out of proportion to that big fat body." The prefix comes from the Latin pro meaning "on behalf of, for." If you're Proportion likes portions, and for them to be the right size. The cake's sweetness is in direct proportion to how much sugar you put in. It's a compliment to tell someone he or she has just the right proportions, but you might get slapped. It can also be a part of something, as in a significant proportion of our student body has dyed their hair purple.
Vocabulary lists containing proportion
"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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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:
Last year, the proportion of A* grades rose slightly to 10.5%, while 29.5% of results were A or A* which was lower than in 2024.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
However, critics argue that at each of these businesses only a tiny proportion of staff are actually using the AI, and that those who do so are only using it to a very limited extent.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"So, the findings of our study were extremely surprising because in the biomass analyzed from our experimental runs, an unusually high proportion of the uranium identified was also pentavalent uranium."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
The proportion of auto liability and medical claims auto insurers resolved last year that they didn’t pay out on, according to a Journal analysis of thousands of company regulatory filings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The girl’s confusion was out of all normal proportion.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
The NHS transplants one in 10 lungs and one in seven hearts that are donated - half the proportions seen in some other countries.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
These proportions may shift in the future because of new caps on borrowing, according to Castellano.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Tyrannosaurus rex was an imposing predator, while dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus reached truly massive proportions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
After about a month and a half, the harassment ended when he was interviewed by Scott Simon on NPR’s Weekend Edition, which expanded his digital presence to national proportions.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
William’s disgust had returned to its original proportions.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
He’s a ridiculously proportioned savant who dribbles like a point guard, blocks shots like a center and puts up stat lines matched only by Hall-of-Famers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
And then there are the paintings and canvases, too small and oddly proportioned compared to the wall.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2025
Named to honor the Ama freedivers — a 2,000-year-old tradition of predominantly women-led divers who gather pearls and seafood in Japan — the bestselling Lindquist Big Ama Bag is a perfectly proportioned shoulder-carry bucket tote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025
Rick Owens mixed gothic elements with a touch of the bizarre, featuring oversized rubber boots that Owens himself described as outlandishly proportioned.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 21, 2024
A smiling Heath Huxley, his perfectly proportioned teeth shining like a white picket fence, stepped out of the principal’s office and stroked his sleek black mane.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
If you were of the Larkin persuasion – that it was all downhill from Charlie Parker onwards – the proportioning might have been music to your ears.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 6, 2014
Reason, by the loss of innocence reduced to its natural nakedness, is just beginning to discover the world; and God is sparing in His demands, proportioning them to human experience .
From Time Magazine Archive
He devoted his attention simply to taking the enormously dramatic life of his subject, proportioning it justly, and letting it go its own exciting way in the theatre.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the 1924 election they were mystified by the so-called scrutin de liste, a well meant but inexplicable procedure which was supposed to ensure by mathematical proportioning a greater representation of minority groups in Parliament.
From Time Magazine Archive
This has been accomplished by forcing the boilers—although thus, to some extent, losing economy—by higher steam-pressure, a very much higher piston-speed, reduction of friction of parts, reduction of capacity for coal-stowage, and exceedingly careful proportioning.
From A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine by Robert H. Thurston
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.
