I. por ‧ tion 1 AC /ˈpɔːʃ ə n $ ˈpɔːr-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin portio ]
1 . [countable] a part of something larger, especially a part that is different from the other parts
portion of
The front portion of the rocket breaks off.
The rent on his portion of the apartment was $500 a month.
significant/substantial/major/good portion
The main character’s childhood takes up a good portion of the film.
2 . [countable] an amount of food for one person, especially when served in a restaurant SYN serving , helping :
Do you have any children’s portions?
portion of
a huge portion of roast beef
He served generous portions (=large portions) of soup from a black pot.
3 . [usually singular] a share of something, such as responsibility, blame, or a duty, that is divided between a small number of people
portion of
The other driver must bear a portion of the blame for the accident.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ large
Temperatures over a large portion of the central and eastern states were well below normal.
▪ substantial/major/considerable (=very large)
He owns a substantial portion of the company.
▪ significant (=very important)
This bonus constitutes a significant portion of their total income.
▪ a good portion (=large)
She spends a good portion of her paycheck on clothes and entertainment.
▪ a small portion
A small portion of western Croatia remained under Habsburg control.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ big/large
I was hungry so I asked for a large portion of french fries.
▪ generous (=large)
Spoon a generous portion of the sauce over the pasta.
▪ small
One way of losing weight is to eat smaller portions.
▪ a double portion (=twice as large as a normal one)
I ordered a double portion of chicken.
II. portion 2 BrE AmE verb
portion something ↔ out phrasal verb British English
to divide something into parts and give it to several people
portion something ↔ out among
The money was portioned out among them.