Definition of quota
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
From the M-W Editors
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 of quota from the Web
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Most schools had met their quota for next season, leaving Pickett without an ideal landing spot.
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The DEA did not impose quotas on how many opioids were manufactured.
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Anglers may harvest only 80 percent of their quota due to imprecision with the federal harvest estimate system called the Marine Recreational Information Program.
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Other research has shown that artificial increases in diversity, like quotas requiring that a certain share of executives are female, have little effect on businesses.
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The action from the nation’s most-populous city marks the latest effort by state and local government officials to punish Wells Fargo, whose reputation was battered by revelations that employees created fake accounts to meet sales quotas.
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The department’s quotas on refugee resettlement were largely the result of budget constraints imposed by Congress in a temporary spending measure passed last fall.
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Amber Meadows, a 23-year-old woman who worked beside Elsea on the line at Ajin, told Bloomberg the team had a quota of 420 dashboard frames per shift but rarely made more than 350.
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The entire quota of H-1B visas was snapped up the first day of the fiscal year by U.S. employers anxious to recruit foreigners for jobs in medicine, engineering, education, research and programming, among other fields.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quota'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of quota
Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part
QUOTA Defined for English Language Learners
quota
playDefinition of quota for English Language Learners
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: an official limit on the number or amount of people or things that are allowed
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: a specific amount or number that is expected to be achieved
QUOTA Defined for Kids
quota
playDefinition of quota for Students
1 : a limit on the number or amount of people or things that are allowed a quota on imported goods
2 : a share assigned to each member of a group Each colony received its quota of troops.
3 : a specific amount or number of things that is expected to be achieved She sold her quota of candy bars.
Law Dictionary
quota
playLegal Definition of quota
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
Origin and Etymology of quota
Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part
Learn More about quota
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See words that rhyme with quota Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for quota Spanish Central: Translation of quota Nglish: Translation of quota for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of quota for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about quota
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