portion
/ˈpɔː.ʃən/ IELTSAcademic
noun
A portion is a part or share of a whole. It is often used for food, money, time, or something divided among people.
- She ate a small portion of rice.
- Each child got one portion of the cake.
- Please save a portion for later.
verb
To portion something is to divide it into parts and give out shares. This is less common in everyday speech.
- We portioned the dessert into four bowls.
- The teacher portioned the prizes equally.
- They portioned the funds carefully.
Adinary Nuance
Portion is a neutral, flexible word for a part of something. It often sounds more exact than piece and less literary than fraction. For food, it is the usual word on menus and in health talk. Use share when you mean something given fairly among people.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- phần
- Spanish
- porción
- Chinese
- 份量
- Japanese
- 部分
- Korean
- 부분
Etymology
Portion comes from Latin portio, meaning 'a share' or 'part'. It entered English through Old French in the Middle Ages.
Common phrases
a small portiona large portionportion sizeportion out
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is "portion" formal or informal?
- It is neutral. You can use it in everyday speech, school writing, and business writing.
- What is the difference between "portion" and "piece"?
- A portion is a part taken from a whole. A piece is a more general word for one bit of something.
- Can I use "portion" for food?
- Yes. It is very common for food, especially in restaurants and diet advice.
- Is "portion" countable?
- Yes. You can say one portion, two portions, or several portions.