Portion
/ˈpɔːrʃən/
Definitions
2 meaningsA part or share of a whole that is given, assigned, or received.
/ˈpɔːrʃən/
A part or share of a whole.
She ate a small portion of her dinner.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're sharing a big bag of candy. A portion is how much candy each person gets. It's like a slice of cake or a scoop of ice cream – a certain amount that you get.
👶 For kids: A piece of something, like a piece of cake or a part of a story.
More Examples
The recipe calls for a portion of butter.
The inheritance was divided into equal portions.
How It's Used
"Each guest received a small portion of the chef's special dish."
"The company allocated a portion of its profits to research and development."
"The will specified the portion of the estate for each heir."
To divide and distribute something into portions.
/ˈpɔːrʃən/
To divide and give out portions.
The chef carefully portioned the soup into individual bowls.
💡 Simply: When you portion something, you're splitting it up into equal parts. Like when you portion out the snacks so everyone gets a fair share.
👶 For kids: To give out a piece of something to someone.
More Examples
The aid workers portioned the supplies among the survivors.
She will portion her time between work and family.
How It's Used
"The restaurant carefully portions out each dish to ensure consistency."
"The charity will portion out the food aid to the refugees."
Idioms & expressions
a fair portion
A reasonable or just amount.
"The children each received a fair portion of the birthday cake."
one's fair portion
One's deserved share or amount, often used in a negative context of suffering.
"After all his hard work, he felt he deserved his fair portion of success."
From Old French *porcion*, from Latin *portio* meaning 'a part, share'.
Used in medieval literature to describe shares of land or property, and later food servings.
Memory tip
Think of dividing a pizza – each slice is a portion.
Word Origin
"a part, share"