quota

noun

quo·​ta ˈkwō-tə 

1

: a proportional part or share

especially : the share or proportion assigned to each in a division or to each member of a body

2

: the number or amount constituting a proportional share

3

: a fixed number or percentage of minority group members or women needed to meet the requirements of affirmative action

Synonyms of quota

• portion
• share
• part
• percentage
• proportion
• allowance
• allotment

Examples of quota in a Sentence

The agency imposes strict fishing quotas.

The company has imposed quotas on hiring.

He lost his driver's license because he exceeded the quota of traffic violations.

The department set new sales quotas in January.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the preceding days, ICE had been ramping up its operations to meet a quota of two thousand arrests per day. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026

Chinese individuals face a $50,000 annual quota for foreign exchange conversion; the capital account is managed, everywhere, always. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

If the only reward for mastering an AI workflow is a higher performance quota or an impending pink slip, workers will quietly slow-roll, sandbag and sabotage the transition. — Jason Dressel, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Beijing manages rare earth mining and downstream separation through annual production quotas. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quota

• chota
• cota
• biota
• iota
• lakota
• nonquota
• ricotta

Kids Definition

quota

noun

quo·​ta ˈkwōt-ə 

1

: a share or part assigned to each member of a group

2

: the number or amount making up a quota

Legal Definition

quota

noun

quo·​ta ˈkwō-tə 

1

: a proportional part or share assigned to each in a body

2

: a specific amount that serves as a minimum or maximum

a law against traffic ticket quotas

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part