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
Some maquila workers told CNN they were given daily quotas of thousands of apparel items, and made to stand for up to 15 hours a day, while earning a minimum wage of less than $500 a month.
—
Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Amanda Bryant, herpetologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said hunters surpassed the initial quota of 204 with one additional harvest.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2025
With potential regulatory fights to come, this is a potential boon and is a way of circumventing content quotas and other obligations that European countries want to establish.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
At issue was the question of how much say each municipality would have in allowing that new development, with opponents claiming untruthfully that the state wanted to mandate specific quotas for new homes.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Amanda Bryant, herpetologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said hunters surpassed the initial quota of 204 with one additional harvest.
—Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2025
With potential regulatory fights to come, this is a potential boon and is a way of circumventing content quotas and other obligations that European countries want to establish.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
At issue was the question of how much say each municipality would have in allowing that new development, with opponents claiming untruthfully that the state wanted to mandate specific quotas for new homes.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Oct. 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 23 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share