portion
Other forms: portions; portioned; portioning
If a friend asks you to invest in her new start-up in exchange for a portion, or part, of the company’s profits, consider the agreement carefully. Remember, a portion of zero is still zero.
Portion can also refer to the amount of food provided for each person at a meal. If you’re reviewing a restaurant, for example, you'll want to take note of the portion size. In addition, portion can be used as a verb meaning “divide and distribute something.” At birthday parties, we find it odd that the person celebrating her birthday is expected to perform the annoying task of portioning her own cake (perhaps it’s so she can claim the biggest portion).
Definitions of portion
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something determined in relation to something that includes it“I read a portion of the manuscript”synonyms: component, component part, constituent, moiety, parttypes:substancethe real physical matter of which a person or thing consistslanguage unit, linguistic unitone of the natural units into which linguistic messages can be analyzeditem, pointa distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a listbuttthe part of a plant from which the roots spring or the part of a stalk or trunk nearest the rootsunitan individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a wholememberanything that belongs to a set or classbalance, remainder, residual, residue, residuum, restsomething left after other parts have been taken awaysubparta part of a partdregsthe most worthless or undesirable part of somethingbody substancethe substance of the bodydiscourseextended verbal expression in speech or writingworda unit of language that native speakers can identifysyllablea unit of spoken language larger than a phonemelexemea minimal unit (as a word or stem) in the lexicon of a language; `go' and `went' and `gone' and `going' are all members of the English lexeme `go'morphememinimal meaningful language unit; it cannot be divided into smaller meaningful unitsformativeminimal language unit that has a syntactic (or morphological) functionnamea language unit by which a person or thing is knownagenda itemone of the items to be consideredincidentalan item that is incidentalinventory iteman item listed in an inventoryline iteman item in an appropriation billnews iteman item in a newspapercollocationa grouping of words in a sentencephone, sound, speech sound(phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some languagesigna fundamental linguistic unit linking a signifier to that which is signifiedchemistrythe chemical composition and properties of a substance or objectphlogistona hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burningmixture(chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding)atom(physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the elementchemical element, elementany of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matteractivator(biology) any agency bringing about activation; a molecule that increases the activity of an enzyme or a protein that increases the production of a gene product in DNA transcriptionsubstratethe substance that is acted upon by an enzyme or fermentelementone of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universemediuman intervening substance through which something is achievedmedium(biology) a substance in which specimens are preserved or displayedfluida substance that is fluid at room temperature and pressurevolatilea substance that changes readily from solid or liquid to vaporessenceany substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extractedaccenta detail or feature that adds visual emphasis to or contrasts with its surroundingstype of:relationan abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
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the allotment of some amount by dividing somethingtype of:allocation, allotment, apportioning, apportionment, assignation, parceling, parcellingthe act of distributing by allotting or apportioning; distribution according to a plan
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an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal“his portion was larger than hers”types:drumstickthe lower joint of the leg of a fowlwingthe wing of a fowlmedalliona circular helping of food (especially a boneless cut of meat)oystera small muscle on each side of the back of a fowldrinka single serving of a beveragelibationa serving (of wine) poured out in honor of a deityturkey wingthe wing of a turkeychicken wingthe wing of a chickenchasera drink to follow immediately after another drinklibation(facetious) a serving of an alcoholic beverageeye openeran alcoholic drink intended to wake one up early in the morningnightcapan alcoholic drink taken at bedtime; often alcoholichair of the dogan alcoholic drink supposed to cure a hangoverstirrup cupa farewell drink (especially one offered to a horseman ready to depart); usually alcoholicsundownera drink taken at sundownpossetsweet spiced hot milk curdled with ale or beerfrappeliqueur poured over shaved icetype of:small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantityan indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
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assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or groupsynonyms: part, percentage, sharetypes:tranchea portion of something (especially money)dispensationa share that has been dispensed or distributeddolea share of money or food or clothing that has been charitably givenwaya portion of something divided into sharesrationa fixed portion that is allotted (especially in times of scarcity)allowancean amount allowed or granted (as during a given period)splita promised or claimed share of loot or moneyprofit sharinga system in which employees receive a share of the net profits of the businesscuta share of the profitsgrubstakefunds advanced to a prospector or to someone starting a business in return for a share of the profitscontrolling interestownership of more than 50% of a corporation's voting sharesinsurable interestan interest in a person or thing that will support the issuance of an insurance policy; an interest in the survival of the insured or in the preservation of the thing that is insuredvested interest(law) an interest in which there is a fixed right to present or future enjoyment and that can be conveyed to anothersecurity interestany interest in a property that secures the payment of an obligationterminable interestan interest in property that terminates under specific conditionsundivided interest, undivided rightthe interest in property owned by tenants whereby each tenant has an equal right to enjoy the entire propertyfeean interest in land capable of being inheritedreallocationa share that has been allocated againquotaa proportional share assigned to each participantprivy purseallowance for a monarch's personal expensesequitythe ownership interest of shareholders in a corporationreversion(law) an interest in an estate that reverts to the grantor (or his heirs) at the end of some period (e.g., the death of the grantee)right(frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thingtype of:assetsanything of material value or usefulness that is owned by a person or company
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money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
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something less than the whole of a human artifactsynonyms: parttypes:appendagea part that is joined to something largerbitthe part of a key that enters a lock and lifts the tumblersbottleneckthe narrow part of a bottle near the topbulba rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one end)butt, stubthe small unused part of something (especially the end of a cigarette that is left after smoking)component, constituent, elementan artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a systemcutouta part that is cut out or is intended to be cut outfoiblethe weaker part of a sword's blade from the forte to the tipfore edge, foredgethe part of a book that faces inward when the book is shelved; the part opposite the spinefortethe stronger part of a sword blade between the hilt and the foiblefractiona small part or item forming a piece of a wholeheel(golf) the part of the clubhead where it joins the shafthubthe central part of a car wheel (or fan or propeller etc) through which the shaft or axle passesjetsamthe part of a ship's equipment or cargo that is thrown overboard to lighten the load in a stormlimbeither of the two halves of a bow from handle to tipnecka narrow part of an artifact that resembles a neck in position or formpeenthe part of a hammerhead opposite the flat striking surface (may have various shapes)piecea separate part of a wholepressinga metal or plastic part that is made by a mechanical pressseata part of a machine that supports or guides another partbackbone, spinethe part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelvedtoe(golf) the part of a clubhead farthest from the shaftupstagethe rear part of the stageupstairsthe part of a building above the ground floorwreckagethe remaining parts of something that has been wreckedappendiclea small appendageaudiothe sound elements of televisionbeamlong thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in constructioncigar buttsmall part of a cigar that is left after smokingcigarette buttsmall part of a cigarette that is left after smokingcrystala crystalline element used as a component in various electronic devicesdadothe section of a pedestal between the base and the surbasehandholdan appendage to hold ontogrip, handgrip, handle, holdthe appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move itcomputer hardware, hardware(computer science) the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer systemheating elementthe component of a heater or range that transforms fuel or electricity into heatingredienta component of a mixture or compoundinputa component of production; something that goes into the production of outputlagan, lagend, ligangoods (or wreckage) on the sea bed that is attached to a buoy so that it can be recoveredlandsidecomponent consisting of a side piece opposite the moldboardleafhinged or detachable flat section (as of a table or door)lengtha section of something that is long and narrowmaking(usually plural) the components needed for making or doing somethingmodulea self-contained component (unit or item) that is used in combination with other componentspiece of leathera separate part consisting of leatherpel, picture element, pixel(computer science) the smallest discrete component of an image or picture on a CRT screen (usually a colored dot)retrofita component or accessory added to something after it has been manufacturedroachthe butt of a marijuana cigarettescrapa small piece of something that is left over after the rest has been usedspark gapa component of an ignition system; consists of two shaped electrodes and the space between themspindlea piece of wood that has been turned on a lathe; used as a baluster, chair leg, etc.subdivision, subsectiona section of a section; a part of a part; i.e., a part of something already dividedtailpieceappendage added to extend the length of somethingtype of:
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give outtypes:allow, appropriate, earmark, reserve, set asidegive or assign a resource to a particular person or causetype of:administer, allot, deal, deal out, dish out, dispense, distribute, dole, dole out, lot, mete, mete out, parcel out, shell outadminister or bestow, as in small portions
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your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)“success that was her portion”types:providencea manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creaturesfailurelack of successweaknessthe condition of being financially weakhard cheesebad luckbankruptcya state of complete lack of some abstract propertybank failurethe inability of a bank to meet its credit obligationscrop failurethe failure of crops to produce a marketable surplusdead ducksomething doomed to failuretype of:conditiona mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing
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