portion

noun por·tion \ ˈpȯr-shən \

Definition of portion

1 :an individual's part or share of something: such as

a :a share received by gift or inheritance

b :dowry

c :enough food especially of one kind to serve one person at one meal

2 :an individual's lot, fate, or fortune :one's share of good and evil

3 :an often limited part of a whole

See portion defined for English-language learners

See portion defined for kids

Examples of portion in a Sentence

A portion of the donations will be given to the orphanage.
Portions of land were used for farming.
A considerable portion of the city was flooded.
The restaurant gives large portions.
She divided the pie into six equal portions.

Recent Examples of portion from the Web

A portion of proceeds from Marlins tickets benefits South Florida childhood cancer organizations.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "What to do with the kids this weekend: Free zoo, bowling and crafts events," 30 Aug. 2017
Last month, a 6 million-euro portion of the senior ranking notes in Titan Europe 2006-3 changed hands at 68 cents on the euro, according to a trader with knowledge of the prices.

— alastair marsh, Bloomberg.com, "Woes Deepen For Mortgage Bond Investors Who Find Stairs Missing," 25 Aug. 2017
The harvests, minus the small portion sold by Marie, are shipped around the world.

— andrew cotto, New York Times, "An Old Fish Farm, but With Gourmet Takeout," 23 Aug. 2017
On April 8, 2024, the path of totality will trace a diagonal line from Texas up to Maine, including a good portion of eastern Missouri.

— kansascity, "Miss the eclipse? You only have to wait seven years for another once-in-a-lifetime event," 23 Aug. 2017
Divided into two parts, the project includes the 2.5 mile portion from Will-Cook Road to Ravinia Avenue and the 5.05 mile stretch from Gougar Road to Will-Cook Road, according to the release.

— staff report, Daily Southtown, "Local officials get update on road widening project," 18 Aug. 2017
Bon Appétit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers.

— Bon Appetit, "Inside Palizzi, the #4 Best New Restaurant 2017," 15 Aug. 2017
But another portion is borne by the explorer alone, who used to be rewarded with adventure and fame if not fortune.

— michelle legro, Longreads, "The Engineers Who Can’t Quit Voyager," 7 Aug. 2017
A new roundabout nearby will likely use a portion of the land that once held the shelter, Bianchi said, adding some people still came to the old shelter to do business, only to find a sign directing them to the new location.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "Old animal shelter razed in Porter County," 2 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of portion

Middle English porcioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin portion-, portio; akin to Latin part-, pars part

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

portion Synonyms

Synonyms

circumstance, destiny, doom, fortune, kismet, lot, fate

Related Words

accident, casualty [archaic], chance, hap, happenchance, happenstance, hazard, luck; predestination; aftereffect, aftermath, conclusion, consequence, development, effect, fruit, issue, outcome, outgrowth, result, resultant, sequel, sequence, upshot

Near Antonyms

whole; aggregate, composite, compound, sum, total, totality

Synonym Discussion of portion

part, portion, piece, member, division, section, segment, fragment mean something less than the whole. part is a general term appropriate when indefiniteness is required.

- they ran only part of the way

portion implies an assigned or allotted part.

- cut the pie into six portions

piece applies to a separate or detached part of a whole.

- a puzzle with 500 pieces

member suggests one of the functional units composing a body.

- a structural member

division applies to a large or diversified part.

- the manufacturing division of the company

section applies to a relatively small or uniform part.

- the entertainment section of the newspaper

segment applies to a part separated or marked out by or as if by natural lines of cleavage.

- the retired segment of the population

fragment applies to a part produced by or as if by breaking off.

- only a fragment of the play still exists

fate, destiny, lot, portion, doom mean a predetermined state or end. fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome.

- the fate of the submarine is unknown

destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end.

- the country's destiny to be a model of liberty to the world

lot and portion imply a distribution by fate or destiny, lot suggesting blind chance

- it was her lot to die childless

, portion implying the apportioning of good and evil.

- remorse was his daily portion

doom distinctly implies a grim or calamitous fate.

- if the rebellion fails, his doom is certain

portion

verb

Definition of portion

portioned; portioning play \-sh(ə-)niŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to divide into portions :distribute

portioned out the food equally

2 :to allot a dowry to :dower

See portion defined for English-language learners

Examples of portion in a Sentence

The work was portioned to each member of the staff.
portioned out the medical supplies equally

Recent Examples of portion from the Web

That said, my version of meal prep doesn't call for portioning out a week's worth of meals into Tupperware containers, or even having everything totally cooked and ready to go.

— christine byrne, SELF, "9 No-Cook Meal Prep Tricks That Get Me Through Summer," 19 July 2017
During the last few days of the fair, attendees can buy a piece of history, as the record-setting candy will be portioned off and sold.

— danielle ohl, baltimoresun.com, "Goetze Candy Company to create longest Cow Tales candy for Maryland State Fair," 29 June 2017
Three meals, each portioned for two people, are $59.70.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Blue Apron, HelloFresh and other meal kit delivery services," 30 May 2017
Three meals, each portioned for two people, are $59.94.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Blue Apron, HelloFresh and other meal kit delivery services," 30 May 2017
Let dough come to room temperature before portioning and coating in cinnamon-sugar.

— rick martinez, Bon Appetit, "BA's Best Snickerdoodles," 19 Apr. 2017
Portioning ingredients correctly is an important first step in achieving the right roti texture.

— john eligon daisann mclane daisann mclane daisann mclane daisann mclane, New York Times, "Roti, a Recipe Mastered Through Repetition," 14 Feb. 2017
Young male cougars come from a society in which they are portioned out by territories.

— National Geographic, "A Cougar's Thousand-Mile Quest to Find a Mate," 22 May 2016

First Known Use of portion

14th century

portion Synonyms

Synonyms

allocate, apportion, deal (out), dispense, distribute, dole out, hand out, mete (out), parcel (out), administer, prorate

Antonyms

misallocate

Related Words

admeasure, allot, allow, appropriate, assign, dish out, divide, divvy (up), dollop (out), lot, measure (out), part, proportion, ration, redistribute, set, share (out), split; bestow, disburse, furnish, issue, provide, share, supply; circulate, disperse, disseminate, scatter, spread; chip in, contribute, donate, pledge; reallocate, reapportion

Near Antonyms

begrudge, decline, deny, deprive (of), disallow, refuse, reject, withhold; niggle (out), pinch, skimp, stint

PORTION Defined for English Language Learners

portion

noun

Definition of portion for English Language Learners

: a part of a larger amount, area, etc.
: a part of something that is shared with other people
: the amount of food that is served to a person at one time

portion

verb

Definition of portion for English Language Learners

: to divide (something) into parts and give those parts to people

PORTION Defined for Kids

portion

noun por·tion \ ˈpōr-shən \

Definition of portion for Students

1 :a part or share of a whole

2 :serving

a large portion of pasta

portion

verb

Definition of portion for Students

portioned; portioning

:to divide into parts :distribute

Kimki portioned work for each one in the tribe …
—Scott O'Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins

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portion

Definition of portion

From the M-W Editors

Examples of portion in a Sentence

Recent Examples of portion from the Web

Origin and Etymology of portion

portion Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of portion

portion

Definition of portion

Examples of portion in a Sentence

Recent Examples of portion from the Web

First Known Use of portion

portion Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

PORTION Defined for English Language Learners

portion

Definition of portion for English Language Learners

portion

Definition of portion for English Language Learners

PORTION Defined for Kids

portion

Definition of portion for Students

portion

Definition of portion for Students

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