apportion

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verb ap·por·tion \ə-ˈpȯr-shən\

Definition of apportion

apportioned

;

apportioning

play \-sh(ə-)niŋ\

transitive verb
: to divide and share out according to a plan; especially : to make a proportionate division or distribution of Representatives are apportioned among the states.

apportionable

play \-shə-nə-bəl\ adjective

See apportion defined for English-language learners

See apportion defined for kids

Examples of apportion in a Sentence

The proceeds from the auction will be apportioned among the descendents.
Apportion the expenses between the parties involved.
The agency apportions water from the lake to residents.

Recent Examples of apportion from the Web

The Securities and Exchange Commission sent letters to numerous hedge funds several weeks ago seeking information about how the managers apportion shares of initial public offerings, the person said.

— dave michaels, WSJ, "SEC Inspecting How Hedge Funds Dole Out Hot IPO Shares Among Clients," 30 June 2017
Blame for the incident should be apportioned appropriately, falling especially on the bureaucrats for their dereliction of duty, but not sparing the designers whose missteps had dogged the building for so long.

— ian volner, The Atlantic, "The Legacy and Lessons of Grenfell Tower," 19 June 2017
Required by law, the decennial census of every United States resident has occurred every decade since 1790 and serves as the basis for apportioning seats in the House of Representatives.

— linda qiu, New York Times, "Fact Check: These Statements by Trump’s Cabinet Don’t Match Policy," 13 June 2017
Clement, who is reluctant to apportion blame, says Santos is confident with its environmental monitoring.

— perry williams, Bloomberg.com, "Why Australia Can't Get at Its Huge Underground Gas Reserves," 12 June 2017
Blame for products lapses can be apportioned out among a variety of individuals, as well as the Ford board.

— paul a. eisenstein, NBC News, "Ford CEO Tried to Fire His President — Then Got Booted Himself," 1 June 2017
Concluding that a particular proposed tax would have to be apportioned would be a killer in the legislative process.)

— jonathan h. adler, Washington Post, "Is the proposed ‘border adjustment’ tax unconstitutional?," 13 May 2017
The box will be expected to track the vehicle's position and to record when and where the self-driving system takes control of the vehicle, suffers a technical problem, or requests the driver to take over, allowing the courts to apportion blame.

— peter sayer, PCWorld, "Germany will allow self-driving, but not driverless, cars on its roads," 12 May 2017
City Attorney Marc Kaszubski said the city is asking, among other things, that the court reverse the MIDDD board’s decision to apportion and assess costs to Sterling Heights that should be borne by the wastewater disposal district.

— christina hall, Detroit Free Press, "Lawsuit puts cloud over Macomb County sewer line repair," 8 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apportion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of apportion

Middle French apportionner, from a- (from Latin ad-) + portionner to portion

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First Known Use: 15th century

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APPORTION Defined for English Language Learners

apportion

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verb

Definition of apportion for English Language Learners

: to divide (something) among or between people : to give (a part of something) to a number of people

Law Dictionary

apportion

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transitive verb ap·por·tion \ə-ˈpȯr-shən\

Legal Definition of apportion

: to make a usually proportionate division or distribution of (an amount due) according to a plan: as a : to divide (an amount due in tax or other liability) among the parties responsible for respective shares of the payment — compare contribution b : to assign (a portion of the consideration agreed to in a contract) as payment for the other party's partial performance c : to distribute (corporate dividends) based on some proportion d : to assign (legislative representatives and taxes) among the states as provided by law