portion
B2Neutral to formal; common in everyday, culinary, business, and legal contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A part or share of something, especially when divided among people or allocated for a purpose.
Can refer to a serving of food, a dowry, a person's destiny or lot in life, or a specific part of a legal document.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies a part of a whole that has been divided or allocated. Can carry a neutral, positive (generous), or negative (insufficient) connotation depending on context. In food contexts, it is a countable unit.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Both use 'portion' similarly for food servings and shares. 'Portion' as a verb (to divide/allocate) is slightly more common in American legal/formal writing.
Connotations
Similar in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally common in both BrE and AmE.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
a portion of [NOUN]portion [something] outbe portioned to [someone]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “portion something out”
- “marriage portion (archaic for dowry)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to a share of profits, market, or budget (e.g., 'a significant portion of our revenue').
Academic
Used to describe a part of data, a sample, or a text (e.g., 'the following portion of the study').
Everyday
Primarily used for food servings (e.g., 'Could I have a smaller portion?').
Technical
In law, a part of an estate or document; in IT, a segment of code or data.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The land was portioned out among the heirs.
- She carefully portioned the stew into six bowls.
American English
- The estate will be portioned according to the will.
- Portion the funds into three equal allocations.
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The children ate a large portion of chips.
- Can I have a small portion of cake, please?
- She only finished a portion of her homework.
- A significant portion of the audience agreed.
- The report covers only a portion of the complex issue.
- He invested a considerable portion of his savings.
- The court ordered a portion of the assets to be frozen.
- This portion of the treaty remains highly contentious among scholars.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a PORtion of PORridge - it's a part of the whole pot served on a plate.
Conceptual Metaphor
OBJECTS ARE CONTAINERS (a portion is a contained part of a larger whole).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating directly as 'порция' only for food; for abstract shares, use 'часть', 'доля'.
- Do not confuse with 'part' (часть) when implying a measured or allocated share; 'portion' is more specific.
- The verb 'to portion' is not commonly used in Russian; prefer phrases like 'делить на части', 'выделять долю'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'portion' for uncountable abstract concepts without 'of' (e.g., 'a large portion time' -> 'a large portion of time').
- Confusing 'portion' with 'proportion' (which is a comparative ratio).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'portion' LEAST appropriate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, while very common for food servings, it is widely used for any allocated part or share of something abstract or concrete (e.g., portion of time, money, responsibility).
'Part' is more general. 'Portion' often implies a part that is allocated, assigned, or served from a whole, especially in measured or formal contexts.
Yes, though less common. It means to divide or allocate something into portions (e.g., 'Portion out the supplies').
It usually takes a singular verb when referring to a singular collective quantity (e.g., 'A large portion of the cake is gone'). If the noun after 'of' is plural and the sense is of individuals, a plural verb is possible but debated (e.g., 'A portion of the students are absent' is common in speech). Formal writing often prefers singular.
Collections
Part of a collection
Food and Cooking
A2 · 50 words · Cooking methods, kitchen tools and recipes.