quota
Americannoun
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quotas
plural
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the share or proportional part of a total that is required from, or is due or belongs to, a particular district, state, person, group, etc.
- Synonyms:
- allocation, apportionment, allotment
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a proportional part or share of a fixed total amount or quantity.
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the number or percentage of persons of a specified kind permitted to enroll in a college, join a club, immigrate to a country, etc.
noun
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the proportional share or part of a whole that is due from, due to, or allocated to a person or group
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a prescribed number or quantity, as of items to be manufactured, imported, or exported, immigrants admitted to a country, or students admitted to a college
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of quota
1660–70; < Medieval Latin, short for Latin quota pars how great a part?
Explanation
A quota is a specific number of things. If a quota is placed on the total number of apples each visitor can pick at an orchard, it means that once you've picked a certain number of apples, you have to stop. Usually a quota places an upper limit on the total number or amount of some item. There are quotas placed on all kinds of things, like immigrants entering a country, goods exported, or students admitted to a particular school. Quota comes from the Latin phrase quota pars, or "how large a part".
Vocabulary lists containing quota
Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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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:
Ottawa also is expected to revise its dairy quota rules to improve U.S. market access, Chris Krueger, an analyst and managing director at TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group, said in a note.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Steel imports from Canada could face a quota system, said some of the people familiar, and tariffs on imports that exceed the quota would be higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Indonesia is also buying more panels, though generous energy subsidies and a strict quota system give consumers little incentive to switch.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
A candidate could win comfortably in a local constituency and still fail to enter parliament if their party had already filled its quota with stronger performances elsewhere.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
“That makes your total, yes, by George, fifty! You’ve made the quota, Parmentier. Good boy, good boy! A round of cheers, gentlemen.”
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
In the Iranian capital, long queues formed at petrol stations after authorities said fuel quotas would be reviewed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The US has been asking for a number of concessions from Canada, including removing its remaining retaliatory tariffs on American autos and adjusting its dairy quotas.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
China presents another dynamic; it has ample refining capacity but government export quotas aimed at shoring up domestic energy security have limited overseas sales of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Postal Service while working under demanding conditions that include constant electronic monitoring, opaque performance metrics and pressure to meet delivery quotas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Slowly, though, I began to understand that there were many versions of quotas being filled at the school.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
