Standard Lemma guide

portion

noun · verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈpoɹʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpɔːʃən/
  • Australian, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard: /ˈpoːʃən/
  • /ˈpoəɹʃən/ Scotland, Ireland, other varieties without the horse–hoarse merger
  • /ˈpoːɹʃən/ Scotland, Ireland, other varieties without the horse–hoarse merger
  • /ˈpoɹʃən/ Scotland, Ireland, other varieties without the horse–hoarse merger
  • South-Asia: /poː(r).ʃən/ without the horse–hoarse merger
  • homophone: potion
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)ʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: P AO1 R SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An allocated amount.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: part, piece, bit, chip, chunk, tranche, clip, crumb, crumbling, cutting, flake, fleak, fragment, hunk, lump, mammock, ort, piecemeal, portion, scrap, scraplet, slice, snead, snippet, steck

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One's fate; lot.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doom, fortune, chance, destin, destiny, fatality, fate, foredoom, foreordination, kismet, lot, orlay, portion, predestination, predestiny, preordination, qadar, weird, wyrd

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir; an inheritance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A wife's fortune; a dowry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To divide into amounts, as for allocation to specific purposes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To endow with a portion or inheritance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

the allotment of some amount by dividing something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • death gets more than its share of attention from theologians

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: parcel, share

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: allotment, apportionment, apportioning, allocation, parceling, parcelling, assignation

9

noun

Meaning 9

something less than the whole of a human artifact

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the rear part of the house
  • glue the two parts together

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: part

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: object, physical object

Narrower terms: appendage, bit, bottleneck, bulb, butt, stub, component, constituent, element, cutout, foible, fore edge, foredge, forte, fraction, heel, hub, jetsam, limb, neck, peen, piece, pressing, seat, section, segment, shank, waist, spine, backbone, toe, turnout, widening, upstage, upstairs, wreckage

10

noun

Meaning 10

an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the helpings were all small
  • his portion was larger than hers
  • there's enough for two servings each

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: helping, serving

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: small indefinite quantity, small indefinite amount

Narrower terms: drumstick, second joint, thigh, breast, white meat, wing, medallion, oyster, parson's nose, pope's nose, piece, slice, round, round of drinks, drink, libation

11

noun

Meaning 11

money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dowry, dowery, dower

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: gift

12

noun

Meaning 12

assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he wanted his share in cash

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: share, part, percentage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: assets

Narrower terms: tranche, dispensation, dole, way, ration, allowance, slice, piece, split, interest, stake, profit sharing, cut, allotment, allocation

13

noun

Meaning 13

something determined in relation to something that includes it

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he wanted to feel a part of something bigger than himself
  • I read a portion of the manuscript
  • the smaller component is hard to reach
  • the animal constituent of plankton

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: part, component part, component, constituent

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: relation

Narrower terms: substance, language unit, linguistic unit, item, point, butt, basis, base, detail, particular, unit, member, remainder, balance, residual, residue, residuum, rest, subpart

14

noun

Meaning 14

your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • whatever my fortune may be
  • deserved a better fate
  • has a happy lot
  • the luck of the Irish
  • a victim of circumstances
  • success that was her portion

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fortune, destiny, fate, luck, lot, circumstances

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: condition

Narrower terms: good fortune, luckiness, good luck, providence, misfortune, bad luck, tough luck, ill luck, failure

15

verb

Meaning 15

give out

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • We were assigned new uniforms

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: assign, allot

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: distribute, administer, mete out, deal, parcel out, lot, dispense, shell out, deal out, dish out, allot, dole out

Narrower terms: allow, appropriate, earmark, set aside, reserve, allocate, apportion

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin portiōder. Old French porcionbor. Middle English porcioun English portion From Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion, accusative of Latin portiōnem (“a share, part, portion, relation, proportion”), from portiō, akin to pars (“part”); see part. Compare proportion.

Across languages

Translations

123 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: pjesë — allocated amount
  • Arabic: جُزْء (juzʔ) — allocated amount
  • Armenian: բաժին (bažin) — allocated amount
  • Armenian: մաս (mas) — allocated amount
  • Azerbaijani: pay — allocated amount
  • Belarusian: по́рцыя (pórcyja) — allocated amount
  • Belarusian: ча́стка (částka) — allocated amount
  • Belarusian: до́ля (dólja) — allocated amount
  • Bengali: হিস্যা (hisśa) — allocated amount
  • Bengali: হিস্সা (hisśa) — allocated amount
  • Bengali: ভাগ (bhag) — allocated amount
  • Bengali: অংশ (oṅśo) — allocated amount
  • Bulgarian: част (čast) — allocated amount
  • Bulgarian: дял (djal) — allocated amount
  • Bulgarian: пай (paj) — allocated amount
  • Burmese: အပိုင်း (a.puing:) — allocated amount
  • Catalan: porció — allocated amount
  • Chinese Mandarin: 一部分 (yībùfen) — allocated amount
  • Chinese Mandarin: 部分 (bùfen) — allocated amount
  • Czech: část — allocated amount
  • Czech: díl — allocated amount
  • Czech: podíl — allocated amount
  • Danish: del — allocated amount
  • Dutch: deel — allocated amount
  • Dutch: portie — allocated amount
  • Egyptian: p:z-S:t*Z9-Y1:Z2 (psšt) — allocated amount
  • Esperanto: parto — allocated amount
  • Estonian: osa — allocated amount
  • Finnish: annos — allocated amount
  • Finnish: osuus — allocated amount
  • Finnish: osa — allocated amount
  • French: part — allocated amount
  • French: portion — allocated amount
  • Georgian: ნაწილი (nac̣ili) — allocated amount
  • Georgian: წილი (c̣ili) — allocated amount
  • Georgian: პორცია (ṗorcia) — allocated amount
  • Georgian: ულუფა (ulupa) — allocated amount
  • German: Teil — allocated amount
  • Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (dails) — allocated amount
  • Greek: μερίδα (merída) — allocated amount
  • Ancient Greek: λάχος (lákhos) — allocated amount
  • Ancient Greek: μόριον (mórion) — allocated amount
  • Hindi: हिस्सा (hissā) — allocated amount
  • Hungarian: adag — allocated amount
  • Irish: cuid — allocated amount
  • Italian: porzione — allocated amount
  • Japanese: 部分 (bubun) — allocated amount
  • Khmer: ចំណែក (cɑmnaek) — allocated amount
  • Korean: 일부 (ilbu) — allocated amount
  • Korean: 부분 (bubun) — allocated amount
  • Central Kurdish: بەش (beş) — allocated amount
  • Lao: ສ່ວນ (sūan) — allocated amount
  • Latin: portiō — allocated amount
  • Latvian: daļa — allocated amount
  • Lithuanian: dalis — allocated amount
  • Macedonian: дел (del) — allocated amount
  • Malayalam: പങ്ക് (paṅkŭ) — allocated amount
  • Māori: taha — allocated amount
  • Māori: tirikai — allocated amount
  • Marathi: भाग (bhāg) — allocated amount
  • Marathi: वाटा (vāṭā) — allocated amount
  • Marathi: तुकडा (tukḍā) — allocated amount
  • Mongolian: хувь (xuvʹ) — allocated amount
  • Norwegian Bokmål: del — allocated amount
  • Norwegian Bokmål: porsjon — allocated amount
  • Persian: بَخش (baxš) — allocated amount
  • Persian: جُزء (joz') — allocated amount
  • Plautdietsch: Deel (nds) — allocated amount
  • Polish: porcja — allocated amount
  • Portuguese: porção — allocated amount
  • Romanian: porțiune — allocated amount
  • Romanian: bucată — allocated amount
  • Romanian: porție — allocated amount
  • Romanian: fragment — allocated amount
  • Romanian: cotă-parte — allocated amount
  • Russian: до́ля (dólja) — allocated amount
  • Russian: по́рция (pórcija) — allocated amount
  • Russian: часть (častʹ) — allocated amount
  • Russian: пай (paj) — allocated amount
  • Sanskrit: अंश (aṃśa) — allocated amount
  • Sanskrit: भाग (bhāga) — allocated amount
  • Scottish Gaelic: cuid — allocated amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: де̏о — allocated amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: ди̏о — allocated amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: dȅo — allocated amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: dȉo — allocated amount
  • Slovak: časť — allocated amount
  • Slovak: diel — allocated amount
  • Slovak: podiel — allocated amount
  • Slovene: del — allocated amount
  • Spanish: porción — allocated amount
  • Swedish: portion — allocated amount
  • Swedish: del — allocated amount
  • Thai: ส่วน (sùuan) — allocated amount
  • Tocharian B: pāke — allocated amount
  • Tocharian B: ñasso — allocated amount
  • Turkish: pay — allocated amount
  • Turkish: hisse — allocated amount
  • Ottoman Turkish: حصه (hisse) — allocated amount
  • Ottoman Turkish: قسط (kıst) — allocated amount
  • Ottoman Turkish: اوكون (öğün) — allocated amount
  • Ukrainian: по́рція (pórcija) — allocated amount
  • Ukrainian: части́на (častýna) — allocated amount
  • Ukrainian: до́ля (dólja) — allocated amount
  • Vietnamese: phần — allocated amount
  • Bulgarian: парче́ (parčé) — separated part of anything
  • Bulgarian: по́рция (pórcija) — separated part of anything
  • Catalan: porció — separated part of anything
  • Egyptian: f:d-q-Z9:D40 (fdq) — separated part of anything
  • Esperanto: porcio — separated part of anything
  • Finnish: osa — separated part of anything
  • Belarusian: до́ля (dólja) — one's fate — see also fate
  • Finnish: osa — one's fate — see also fate
  • Irish: cinniúint — one's fate — see also fate
  • Russian: до́ля (dólja) — one's fate — see also fate
  • Ukrainian: до́ля (dólja) — one's fate — see also fate
  • Bulgarian: дял (djal) — part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir
  • Finnish: osa — part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir
  • Finnish: perintöosa — part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir
  • Russian: до́ля (dólja) — part of an estate given or falling to a child or heir
  • Bulgarian: разделям (razdeljam) — to divide into amounts
  • Bulgarian: поделям (podeljam) — to divide into amounts
  • Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (dailjan) — to divide into amounts
Real reading context

portion in complete knowledge articles