portfolio

play

noun port·fo·lio \ pȯrt-ˈfō-lē-ˌō \

Definition of portfolio

plural portfolios

1 :a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures, or pamphlets

[from the use of such a case to carry documents of state]

:the office and functions of a minister of state or member of a cabinet

3 :the securities held by an investor :the commercial paper held by a financial house (such as a bank)

4 :a set of pictures (such as drawings or photographs) usually bound in book form or loose in a folder

5 :a selection of a student's work (such as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress

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Recent Examples of portfolio from the Web

Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi has emphasized the importance of better-for-you products and laid out health targets for its food and beverage portfolio.

— jennifer kaplan, Bloomberg.com, "Organic Doritos Give Snack Giant a Way Into the New Whole Foods," 30 Aug. 2017
There will no longer be special envoys for the Arctic, Syria, Myanmar, Libya, Haiti, Sudan and South Sudan, though regional offices will assume those portfolios.

— josh lederman, chicagotribune.com, "Tillerson to cut more than half of State Department's special envoys," 28 Aug. 2017
There will no longer be special envoys for the Arctic, Syria, Myanmar, Libya, Haiti, Sudan and South Sudan, though regional offices will assume those portfolios.

— Washington Post, "Tillerson to abolish most special envoys, including climate," 28 Aug. 2017
The admissions process at CalArts is famously blind: Faculty members look at the applicant’s portfolio, not at the applicant.

— robert ito, Los Angeles Magazine, "These Female Animators are Redrawing an Industry’s Gender Lines," 18 Aug. 2017
Infrastructure, after all, is under Kushner’s vast West Wing portfolio.

— emily jane fox, The Hive, "The Myth of Jared and Ivanka Meets Charlottesville," 16 Aug. 2017
The purchase falls in line with the trust's strategy of creating a geographically diverse portfolio in the nation's top 100 metropolitan statistical areas.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Montgomery's Verandas at Mitylene sold to trust," 9 Aug. 2017
Every new rocket engine, every launch, every trip to the International Space Station is not just a business transaction but also an opportunity to upgrade SpaceX's engineering savvy and expand its portfolio of launch capabilities.

— bobak ferdowsi, Popular Mechanics, "Why the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Just Might Work," 31 July 2017
Corporate bonds also comprise only a small part of most portfolios.

— The Economist, "ButtonwoodCould bond funds break the market?," 20 July 2017

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

Did You Know?

Portfolio is partly based on the Latin folium, meaning "leaf, sheet". A portfolio usually represents a portable showcase of your talents. Today actual portfolios are used less than they used to be by artists, since most commercial artists have a Web site dedicated to showing off their art. But portfolio in its other common meaning is extremely common. Not so long ago, a broker would keep each of his or her clients' investments in a separate notebook or portfolio. Today the investment portfolio, like an artist's portfolio, usually takes the form of a Web page, even though everyone still uses the same old word.

Origin and Etymology of portfolio

Italian portafoglio, from portare to carry (from Latin) + foglio leaf, sheet, from Latin folium — more at blade

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1713

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, rentier, stagflation, usurer

PORTFOLIO Defined for English Language Learners

portfolio

play

noun

Definition of portfolio for English Language Learners

: a flat case for carrying documents or drawings
: a set of drawings, paintings, or photographs that are presented together in a folder
finance : the investments that are owned by a person or organization