portion

[pawr-shuhn, pohr-]

noun

1. a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.

   I read a portion of the manuscript.

   Synonyms: segment, section
   Antonyms: whole

2. an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.

   He took a large portion of spinach.

   Synonyms: ration

3. the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.

   Synonyms: dividend, lot, quota, allotment

4. the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.

   Synonyms: inheritance

5. Literary.,  something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.

   Synonyms: doom, destiny, lot, fortune

6. (especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.

verb (used with object)

1. to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).

   Synonyms: apportion, allot

2. to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.

   All of his children have been amply portioned.

   Synonyms: endow

3. to provide with a lot or fate.

   She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.

portion

/ ˈpɔːʃən /

noun

1. a part of a whole; fraction

2. a part allotted or belonging to a person or group

3. an amount of food served to one person; helping

4. law

   1. a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents

   2. the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry

5. a person's lot or destiny

verb

1. to divide up; share out

2. to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate

3. law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow

Other Word Forms

• portionless adjective
• portionable adjective
• reportion verb (used with object)
• unportionable adjective
• unportioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of portion¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part

Word History and Origins

Origin of portion¹

C13: via Old French from Latin portiō portion, allocation; related to pars _part

Synonym Study

See part.

Example Sentences

In January, crews struggled to contain a devastating firestorm that decimated portions of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

Partial lunar eclipse – Only a portion of the Moon passes into Earth's shadow, creating a visible dark segment.

From BBC

“I think that everyone is entitled to feel how they feel,” Marsh said of that portion of the article.

From Los Angeles Times

That may just be a small portion of the more than 2,000 languages estimated to be spoken across the continent but those involved in the project say they hope to expand in the future.

From BBC

In the few minutes it had taken to drop their son off, a landslide-plagued portion of the highway — ominously named Last Chance Grade — had crumbled.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• allocation 
• chunk 
• excerpt 
• fraction 
• fragment 
• lot 
• part 
• piece 
• quantity 
• section 
• segment 
• serving