portion
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a part of something larger, like a project or a sum of money.
n.a constituent part or section of a larger whole. Often used in formal or academic contexts to describe segments of a total amount.
Simple“A large portion of the company's budget is spent on advertising.”
In context“The research team dedicated a significant portion of their findings to the environmental impact of urban expansion.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.the amount of food served to one person at a meal.
n.an individual serving of food intended for one person.
Simple“The restaurant serves very generous portions of pasta.”
In context“Nutritionists recommend controlling portion sizes to maintain a balanced diet, especially when consuming calorie-dense processed foods.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.your luck or what happens to you in life.
n.one's destiny, lot, or predetermined fate in life.
Simple“Hard work and long hours were his portion in those early years.”
In context“In the classic novel, the protagonist accepts that a life of solitude is to be his inevitable portion.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to divide something into parts so you can give it to different people.
v.to divide a whole into shares for distribution or allocation. Often used with 'out'.
Simple“The mother carefully portioned out the cake so each child got an equal piece.”
In context“The relief agency began to portion out the emergency supplies to the families displaced by the flood.”
UsageOften functions as a phrasal verb 'portion out' when describing the physical act of distribution.
Synonyms
Usage significant portion · substantial portion
“Parts of the United States and Canada will have the chance to see the moon block at least a small portion of the sun.”
“However, depending on the orbit the solar panels are put in, the Earth may shadow them for some portion of the orbit.”
From Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion, from Latin portio (“a share, part, portion, relation, proportion”), akin to pars (“part”); see part. Compare proportion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.