portion
Americannoun
-
portions
plural
-
a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.
I read a portion of the manuscript.
- Antonyms:
- whole
-
an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.
He took a large portion of spinach.
- Synonyms:
- ration
-
the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.
-
the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.
- Synonyms:
- inheritance
-
Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.
-
(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.
verb (used with object)
-
portions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
portioned,
past participle, past
-
portioning
present participle
-
to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).
-
to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.
All of his children have been amply portioned.
- Synonyms:
- endow
-
to provide with a lot or fate.
She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.
noun
-
a part of a whole; fraction
-
a part allotted or belonging to a person or group
-
an amount of food served to one person; helping
-
law
-
a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
-
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry
-
-
a person's lot or destiny
verb
-
to divide up; share out
-
to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate
-
law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow
Synonym Usage
See part.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reportionverb (used with object)
-
portionableadjective
-
portionlessadjective
-
unportionableadjective
-
unportionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
portionsimple
-
portionssimple
-
have portionedperfect
-
has portionedperfect
-
am portioningprogressive
-
are portioningprogressive
-
is portioningprogressive
-
have been portioningperfect progressive
-
has been portioningperfect progressive
Past
-
portionedsimple
-
had portionedperfect
-
was portioningprogressive
-
were portioningprogressive
-
had been portioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of portion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part
Explanation
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero. Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Vocabulary lists containing portion
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 1
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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The Language of Standardized Tests, 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:
The developer, a partnership called The Veterans Collective, has not released plans for the commercial portion of the building or identified specific tenants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Faced with mounting military pressure, the Ukrainian leader has created two new taskforces headed by experienced generals, Andriy Biletsky and Denys Prokopenko, to defend the portion of Donbas still in Ukrainian hands.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
People roll a portion of their balance to an IRA to “get started,” fully intending to deal with the stock later.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
On my own computer, AI exports live in a subfolder called “AI Chat History,” which is on the “AI Land” portion of my hard drive, where I keep all AI-generated files.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
He smiled sympathetically and served Coal a heaping portion of shepherd’s pie and put the plate of croissants in front of him.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Human remains were damaged in the plane crashes and fires caused by jet fuel, meaning the office had only portions of victims for DNA samples, Soler said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
On my most recent visit with Morgan, I could have eaten several portions of an end-of-summer stone fruit and tomato salad served over creamy ricotta.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Instead, the planet may once have contained huge, connected magmatic systems spanning large portions of its crust.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
At least two people died in the Grand Canyon and over a dozen were still unaccounted for after a weekend of punishing rain flooded portions of the Arizona park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Seven days went by and seven precious portions of rice were eaten.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Howrey’s own politics are here — feminist, environmentalist, activist — but believably portioned out to her characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Meal-kit companies typically sell recipes and ready-to-cook portioned ingredients that are sent to customers’ residences, pitching easy, healthy, home-cooked meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
They’re already portioned, freeze beautifully and invite nibbling rather than commitment.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2026
Fights with spouses or partners if meals aren’t portioned equally, or panic that a family member might eat the last of a favorite food — even though they’re able to go get more.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
In no time at all they’d gathered back at the same spot, where Ben set out the ink, portioned into several small bowls.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
The precise portioning of the secret ingredients, matching the ratios of the founder’s original formula, happens in a room locked off from employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Police discovered the defendant had previously been employed as a "skilled butcher", and her work involved "deboning, and portioning out turkey carcasses using a large knife".
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
China said it would be conducting live-fire drills on Tuesday, portioning out seven zones for the operations in the waters around Taiwan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“We know that portioning is a core equity of ours in the organization,” Boatwright said.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024
Fancy tigers dividing a carcase, and portioning each his fair lot!
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, February 22nd, 1890 by Various
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.
