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
Stephen Miller set a quota of 3,000 daily arrests to achieve one million deportations a year.
—
Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
For 16 years, with a brief respite during President Trump’s first term, the military drifted into a laboratory for progressive priorities -- diversity quotas, climate initiatives, and gender policies that sapped readiness and lethality.
—Matt Schoenfeldt, National Review, 21 June 2025
The White House this month demanded ICE sharply increase arrests of migrants in the U.S. illegally, Reuters reported, changing tactics to achieve higher quotas of 3,000 arrests per day, far above the earlier target of 1,000 per day.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 20 June 2025
Families are being ripped apart under the Trump administration in front of our eyes, hard-working people being taken away while at work or at routine immigration check-ins in an effort to meet an ambitious quota of 3,000 arrests a day.
—Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
For 16 years, with a brief respite during President Trump’s first term, the military drifted into a laboratory for progressive priorities -- diversity quotas, climate initiatives, and gender policies that sapped readiness and lethality.
—Matt Schoenfeldt, National Review, 21 June 2025
The White House this month demanded ICE sharply increase arrests of migrants in the U.S. illegally, Reuters reported, changing tactics to achieve higher quotas of 3,000 arrests per day, far above the earlier target of 1,000 per day.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 20 June 2025
Families are being ripped apart under the Trump administration in front of our eyes, hard-working people being taken away while at work or at routine immigration check-ins in an effort to meet an ambitious quota of 3,000 arrests a day.
—Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 20 June 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 30 Jun. 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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