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.
Back in 2021, it notably demanded an increase to its production quota — and got it.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
Faced with rising competitors in the 1980s, it introduced its famous quota system that enabled it to exert more control over the market.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
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
If Shin’s mother met her daily work quota, she could bring home food for that night and the following day.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
