quota

noun quo·ta \ ˈkwō-tə \

Updated on: 13 Oct 2017

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

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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

The groups said the National Fisheries Commission didn’t supervise fishing season rules and improperly increased catch quotas in the upper Gulf of California.

— mark stevenson, The Seattle Times, "Activists blame Mexican government for near-loss of porpoise," 28 Aug. 2017
The groups said the National Fisheries Commission didn’t supervise fishing season rules and improperly increased catch quotas in the upper Gulf of California.

— Washington Post, "Activists blame Mexican government for near-loss of porpoise," 28 Aug. 2017
Trade agreements are no longer just about reducing quotas or tariffs on products imported by member countries.

— alana semuels, The Atlantic, "What Would a Better NAFTA Look Like?," 19 Aug. 2017
OPEC members could backtrack on their promises and exceed their quotas.

— abigail morris, Bloomberg.com, "Why OPEC's Success Hinges on a Change of Seasons," 18 Aug. 2017
Sadly, the only communal activities are daily challenges, which task players on each platform to work toward meeting quotas like killing X elite enemies, opening Y chests, etc.

— steven strom, Ars Technica, "Agents of Mayhem review: Destroying a really dull open world," 18 Aug. 2017
In fact, in 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that using racial quotas in college admissions is unconstitutional.

— emma sarran webster, Teen Vogue, "Affirmative Action: What It Is and How it Works," 14 Aug. 2017
A key point of difference between Merkel's Christian Democrats and the SPD is that the latter wants car-makers to have quotas for the production of electric vehicles, whereas the former see this as too difficult to put into practice.

— david meyer, Fortune, "Merkel and Rival Lay Into German Auto Industry Ahead of Election," 14 Aug. 2017
Commercial fishers seized the opening and have drawn general support from the DNR to open a netting quota for lake trout in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: DNR sets 10-year Lake Michigan fisheries plan amid stormy seas," 9 Aug. 2017

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

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First Known Use: 1618

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quota Synonyms

Synonyms

allotment, allowance, cut, end, part, piece, portion, proportion, share, slice, take

Related Words

lot, ration; commission, percentage; member, partition, section, segment

Near Antonyms

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

Financial Definition of QUOTA

quota

noun

What It Is

Quota can refer to a measure that sets the limits, either minimum or maximum, on a particular activity.

How It Works

Quotas are usually set by government or by an organization of producers of a particular product.

For trade quotas, governments set the quota limiting the import of a particular product, restricting the access to the domestic market by an offshore producer, and giving the domestic producers the opportunity to improve their position in the market. Such protectionist policies in industries including steel, autos, and many consumer electronics products, have protected domestic industry from international competition.

In production quotas, a government or a group of producers, limit the supply of a particular product in order to maintain a certain price level. For example, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sets a production quota for crude oil in order to "maintain" the price of crude oil in world markets.

Why It Matters

Quotas counteract natural market forces and trends and usually upset normal business cycles. For example, protecting domestic industry from international competition has kept it alive, but has not increased its competitiveness. In an increasingly global economic marketplace, quotas tend to weaken domestic industry. As for production quotas, while maintaining prices in the world markets may sound like a good idea for producers, it can have the effect of forcing consumers to find alternative products (e.g., the search for alternative energy in the case of oil) or worse (e.g., take up arms to fight for rights to natural resources).

Source: Investing Answers

QUOTA Defined for English Language Learners

quota

noun

Definition of quota for English Language Learners

: an official limit on the number or amount of people or things that are allowed
: a specific amount or number that is expected to be achieved

QUOTA Defined for Kids

quota

noun quo·ta \ ˈkwō-tə \

Definition 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

noun quo·ta \ ˈkwō-tə \

legal 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

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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Financial Definition of QUOTA

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QUOTA Defined for English Language Learners

quota

Definition of quota for English Language Learners

QUOTA Defined for Kids

quota

Definition of quota for Students

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quota

legal Definition of quota

Origin and Etymology of quota

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