ration

noun ra·tion \ ˈra-shən , ˈrā- \

Definition of ration

1 a :a food allowance for one day

b rations plural :food, provisions

2 :a share especially as determined by supply

See ration defined for English-language learners

See ration defined for kids

Examples of ration in a Sentence

The soldiers were given their rations for the day.
The horse was fed its ration of oats.
weekly sugar and butter rations

Recent Examples of ration from the Web

Another task performed by the group was to distribute a monthly ration of food to some of the town's elderly residents who don't have family support.

— judy buchenot, Naperville Sun, "Mission to Nicaragua a life-changing experience for volunteers," 18 Aug. 2017
The pass/run ration was 42/22 in the 20-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

— terry pluto, cleveland.com, "Thoughts on Cleveland Browns first game, run the ball! -- Terry Pluto (video)," 17 Aug. 2017
Canada also rations care through lengthy wait times, leading 50,000 exasperated Canadians per year to go to the United States or elsewhere for major care.

— brian riedl, National Review, "America Needs Health-Care Reform, and Single-Payer Will Be No Part of It," 15 Aug. 2017
MATS technology was developed at Washington State University as a way to improve the quality of military rations.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "Military tech could be Amazon’s secret to cheap, non-refrigerated food," 11 Aug. 2017
The planes have a 1:23 ration, which means for every 1,000 feet of altitude, the plane can travel 23,000 feet.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "A Glider Pilot Shares His Love Of Soaring," 2 Aug. 2017
Last year Horizon’s reserve ration was 618 percent.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "New Jersey’s Government Shutdown Is Over, But We’ll Always Have Beachgate," 5 July 2017
In fact, though, every nation rations health care every day.

— t.r. reid, The Atlantic, "How We Spend $3,400,000,000,000," 15 June 2017
Though vitamin C wouldn’t be discovered until the 20th century, naval doctors only knew that daily rations of lemon or lime juice helped to curb scurvy symptoms.

— kevin hopper, idahostatesman, "Gimlet a cure-all for both scurvy and summer heat," 13 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ration.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ration

French, from Latin ration-, ratio computation, reason

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1711

See Words from the same year

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

ration

verb

Definition of ration

rationed; rationing play \ˈra-sh(ə-)niŋ, ˈrā-\

transitive verb

1 :to supply with or put on rations

2 a :to distribute as rations —often used with out

b :to distribute equitably

c :to use sparingly

See ration defined for English-language learners

Examples of ration in a Sentence

During the war, the government rationed gasoline.
the region has had to ration water during times of drought

Recent Examples of ration from the Web

Another problem was that the board’s own power plant wasn’t at full steam, and the plants had to ration power from Entergy, The Advocate reported.

— Washington Post, "Hot words after New Orleans flood, pump problems revealed," 9 Aug. 2017
Civilians had been displaced in greater numbers in recent days, as the fighting in and around Islamic State’s last strongholds in Mosul rages in neighborhoods where water, food and power have been rationed for months.

— andrew katz, TIME.com, "‘My mind will stay there forever’," 17 July 2017
Cauliflower rice is so popular at Trader Joe's that the grocery chain recently began enforcing a two-bag limit per customer, rationing it so that there's enough to go around.

— mahita gajanan, Time, "Why Cauliflower Is the New 'It' Vegetable," 14 July 2017
There were few sports cars zipping around during the war since owners kept them hidden or didn’t have rationed gasoline to run them.

— brett berk, Car and Driver, "The Orphan Chronicles: The Edwards Engineering Co.," 12 July 2017
So the cars were designed to ration AdBlue — and pollute more than allowed — unless software in the car detected the telltale signs of an emissions test.

— jack ewing, New York Times, "Arrest of Former Audi Executive Highlights VW Investigators’ Strategy," 7 July 2017
This spring, Golden and colleagues issued recommended guidelines for rationing venom during the shortage.

— jonel aleccia, Kaiser Health News, "Insect Venom Shortage Stings Allergy Sufferers This Summer," 29 June 2017
The 13-year-olds, who had already shopped at Forever 21 at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, were rationing their limited funds.

— abha bhattarai, chicagotribune.com, "Claire's faces an uphill battle to stay afloat," 27 June 2017
The police have been privatized, water is being rationed, the people are desperately poor, and gas is obscenely expensive—$2,000 per gallon.

— sarah marshall, New Republic, "Blood Drive Misses Out on Everything Good About Gore," 23 June 2017

First Known Use of ration

1834

ration Synonyms

Synonyms

allocate, allow, apportion, assign, distribute, lot, allot

Related Words

admeasure, administer, deal, dispense, divide, dole out, hand out, measure, mete (out), meter, parcel (out), part, portion, prorate, share (out), split; accord, award, give, grant; earmark, reserve; chip in, contribute, donate; reallocate, reapportion, reassign, redistribute

Near Antonyms

begrudge, deny, deprive (of); keep, retain, stint, withhold; appropriate, arrogate, confiscate

RATION Defined for English Language Learners

ration

noun

Definition of ration for English Language Learners

: a particular amount of food that is given to one person or animal for one day
rations : food or supplies
: a particular amount of something (such as gasoline or food) that the government allows you to have when there is not enough of it

ration

verb

Definition of ration for English Language Learners

: to control the amount of (something, such as gasoline or food) that people are allowed to have especially when there is not enough of it

RATION Defined for Kids

ration

noun ra·tion \ ˈra-shən , ˈrā-shən \

Definition of ration for Students

1 :a food allowance for one day

2 rations plural :¹provision 1

3 :the amount each person is allowed by an authority

The government set a gas ration.

ration

verb

Definition of ration for Students

rationed; rationing

1 :to control the amount an individual can use

The government rationed gas.

2 :to use sparingly

Ration your water on the hike.

Medical Dictionary

ration

noun ra·tion \ ˈrash-ən , ˈrā-shən \

medical Definition of ration

:a food allowance for one day

ration

transitive verb

medical Definition of ration

rationed; rationing play \ˈrash-(ə-)niŋ, ˈrāsh-\

:to supply with or put on rations

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See words that rhyme with ration Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ration Spanish Central: Translation of ration Nglish: Translation of ration for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ration for Arabic speakers

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Origin and Etymology of ration

Other Food Terms

ration

Definition of ration

Examples of ration in a Sentence

Recent Examples of ration from the Web

First Known Use of ration

ration Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

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RATION Defined for English Language Learners

ration

Definition of ration for English Language Learners

ration

Definition of ration for English Language Learners

RATION Defined for Kids

ration

Definition of ration for Students

ration

Definition of ration for Students

Medical Dictionary

ration

medical Definition of ration

ration

medical Definition of ration

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