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
This means that the gas is not connected to the production of crude oil and is unaffected by decisions to raise or lower output according to, for example, OPEC quotas.
—
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Even those might be fortuitously timed, as the Thunder and Spurs will likely have nothing to play for other than potential awards quotas.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
Among other provisions, the AVMSD enforces a 30 percent European content quota for streaming on-demand services like Netflix.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
And yet, as the rare book dealer Rebecca Romney explains in Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, Burney’s legacy has been progressively undercut over the centuries specifically on the back of comparison to Austen, as if there was some sort of quota for great female novelists of approximately the same period.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quota
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Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Even those might be fortuitously timed, as the Thunder and Spurs will likely have nothing to play for other than potential awards quotas.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
Among other provisions, the AVMSD enforces a 30 percent European content quota for streaming on-demand services like Netflix.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
And yet, as the rare book dealer Rebecca Romney explains in Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, Burney’s legacy has been progressively undercut over the centuries specifically on the back of comparison to Austen, as if there was some sort of quota for great female novelists of approximately the same period.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quota
Cite this Entry
“Quota.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quota. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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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