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
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
Discriminatory immigration laws limited Filipino population growth until 1965, when the passage of the 1965 Immigration & Naturalization Act ended restrictive national quotas for Asian immigrants, the Filipino American National Historical Society noted.
—
Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
The new General Audiovisual Communication Law only counts productions in Spanish or Spain’s co-official languages toward the investment quota.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
So charging fees rather than quotas might be a good idea.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Authorities in Kinshasa said the ban would be replaced by annual quotas.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
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show current usage.
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Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
The new General Audiovisual Communication Law only counts productions in Spanish or Spain’s co-official languages toward the investment quota.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
So charging fees rather than quotas might be a good idea.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Authorities in Kinshasa said the ban would be replaced by annual quotas.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
Cite this Entry
“Quota.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quota. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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