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:
Broadcom also plans to provide residual value support to the new entity equal to the first lien portion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
A large portion of its current business comes from just 250 major enterprise customers, which it says have paid it at least $10mn in the past year.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
SDF permanently turns the decayed portion of a treated tooth dark, which can be especially noticeable on front teeth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
“Despite these evasive actions, the right front portion of the Tesla struck the individual,” CHP said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Their homelands at the time covered a significant portion of the Northeast woodlands.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Littlejohn recovered portions of the fruit, then tracked down Chantrelle’s vomit-stained sheets and clothes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
As part of that settlement, Meta agreed to make significant changes to Facebook and Instagram accounts used by teenagers, and portions of the settlement hinge on other major social media companies agreeing to similar changes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Horvath, who represents large portions of the Westside and Valley, plans to discuss her endorsement during an appearance with Raman on Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
She added that the portions given by the community kitchen - usually pasta or lentils with occasional potatoes and aubergines - were already too small to feed her family.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
He helped to serve them two portions of apple and mint ice cream.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Some are portioned out in small vials, while others are reconstituted from raw ingredients by agents or resellers who sell the peptides ready to use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Howrey’s own politics are here — feminist, environmentalist, activist — but believably portioned out to her characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
They’re already portioned, freeze beautifully and invite nibbling rather than commitment.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2026
People who free-poured cereal from a box into a bowl overestimated portion sizes of nine of 10 types of cereal, with the sole exception a style of cereal where the food is already portioned.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2024
Kimki portioned work for each one in the tribe, giving Ulape and me the task of gathering abalones.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
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
He said 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 ● Jan. 22, 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
Here it will be noticed that we find the real meaning of those words about a man's duty of portioning out readily to another's use what belongs to himself.
From Mediaeval Socialism by Bede Jarrett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
