quota
Americannoun
-
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
-
a proportional part or share of a fixed total amount or quantity.
-
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
-
the proportional share or part of a whole that is due from, due to, or allocated to a person or group
-
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
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.
The sweeping accord also means the quota of Australian beef allowed into the bloc will increase more than 10 times the current level over the next decade.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
But it has no veto power over use of equity—that is, the quota resources.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
China’s Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group announced this week that it had secured a six-month export quota for lithium concentrates from Zimbabwe, just two months after the African country banned exports of raw lithium.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
He said parliament was poised to take one of the century's "most important decisions", noting the quota had unanimous backing and was meant to be implemented by 2029.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
There’s no one there I know, and no one to help me make my quota.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
