ration
Americannoun
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rations
plural
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a fixed allowance of provisions or food, especially for soldiers or sailors or for civilians during a shortage.
a daily ration of meat and bread.
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an allotted amount.
They finally saved up enough gas rations for the trip.
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rations,
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provisions.
Enough rations were brought along to feed all the marchers.
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Chiefly South Atlantic States. food or meals.
The old hotel still has the best rations in town.
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verb (used with object)
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rations,
present (3rd person singular)
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rationed,
past participle, past
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rationing
present participle
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to supply, apportion, or distribute as rations (often followed byout ).
to ration out food to an army.
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to supply or provide with rations.
to ration an army with food.
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to restrict the consumption of (a commodity, food, etc.).
to ration meat during war.
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to restrict the consumption of (a consumer).
The civilian population was rationed while the war lasted.
noun
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a fixed allowance of food, provisions, etc, esp a statutory one for civilians in time of scarcity or soldiers in time of war
a tea ration
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( as modifier )
a ration book
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a sufficient or adequate amount
you've had your ration of television for today
verb
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(often foll by out) to distribute (provisions), esp to an army
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to restrict the distribution or consumption of (a commodity) by (people)
the government has rationed sugar
sugar is short, so I'll have to ration you
Synonym Usage
See food.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rationsimple
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rationssimple
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have rationedperfect
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has rationedperfect
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am rationingprogressive
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are rationingprogressive
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is rationingprogressive
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have been rationingperfect progressive
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has been rationingperfect progressive
Past
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rationedsimple
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had rationedperfect
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was rationingprogressive
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were rationingprogressive
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had been rationingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ration
First recorded in 1540–50; from French, from Latin ratiōn- (stem of ratiō ); see reason
Explanation
When you ration your supplies, you dole them out a little at a time. A ration is also a wartime military meal, or the portion of food that someone is allowed in times of scarcity. A ration is the fixed portion of food or other goods allowed to each person in times of shortages. In the military, a soldier’s meal is called a ration, especially if it’s portable. As a verb, to ration something is to allow each person to have only a specific amount. During times of war many things have been rationed: gas, rubber, luxury items, and food. If you are diabetic, you need to strictly ration your sugar intake.
Vocabulary lists containing ration
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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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:
Where I lose patience, though, is when a director assumes the audience doesn’t have a collective brain cell among them and attempts to get away with serving action fans a ration of gruel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
With many years of military experience, I know what happens when you ration a scarce, aging fleet against rising demand: readiness erodes, and someone downstream absorbs the risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Several Catholic priests told the news agency they had been asked to ration the wafers, which are offered to the faithful as part of Mass.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
The shortfall is forcing countries in Asia to ration cooking fuel and airlines in Europe to cancel flights because of a jet fuel shortage.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Then the reproach of the others, warning them not to open it yet, to wait, to ration.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
The protesters also alleged that food rations had been reduced at the facility, forcing them to purchase costly items at the commissary.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
"We spent so many months with no fresh rations as the ships failed to reach here, or the limited vegetables they were carrying were spoiled during the long journey," she recalled.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
In 1941, the company purchased distilling facilities in Virginia and Lyons, N.Y., to increase production, then during the war it made pectin, a vital preservative used in military food rations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Pensioners and families living on fixed incomes are hit the hardest, forced to stretch rations, skip meals or rely on remittances from relatives abroad — if they are lucky enough to have them.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2026
In the ship’s hold were stores for at least two years, including a recent innovation: concentrated Bovril sledging rations for the trans-Antarctic run on dogsleds.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
It was priced at thousands of dollars for a season of monthly shots and rationed, sensibly, to the highest-risk babies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The fact that marginal cost pricing would lead to reselling, creating windfall profits for anyone lucky enough to get a rationed ticket, does not alter the principle.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
The lack of electricity, except in rationed spurts, meant searing heat during the day followed by freezing cold during the night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Water is rationed to 50 litres per person per day - to put that into perspective, the average person in the UK uses 142 litres a day, according to Water UK.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
Running the tunnels during the war presented yet another logistical challenge, as the local power company rationed electricity.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
But he found himself rationing the meal swipes, starting the semester conservatively and ending with extras, which he used by inviting his friends to come with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Puerto Rico has begun rationing water across the island amid an intense drought, leaving some residents without supply for 48 hours at a time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Puerto Rico has begun rationing water across the island amid a drought, leaving some residents without supply for 48 hours at a time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
At one point, fresh water supplies dwindled and food became scarce, prompting Islam to introduce rationing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The box of crackers I had been rationing is missing.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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.
