quota

noun

quo·​ta ˈkwō-tə 

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

Synonyms of quota

• portion
• share
• part
• percentage
• proportion
• allowance
• allotment

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

And though national team kits will be worn, there are no quotas for each country, unlike at an Olympic Games where there’s a limit of three per nation per event. — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Territory, quota and capacity models may be managed by revenue operations. — Stephen MacFarlane, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Meanwhile, a separate proposal to boost European industry that would include quotas has divided France and Germany. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026

The three platforms have separately appealed a sub-quota requiring them to devote 20% of their mandatory audiovisual investment to genres including animation, documentaries and recorded or recreated live performance. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quota

• chota
• cota
• biota
• iota
• lakota
• nonquota
• ricotta

Kids 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