I. pro ‧ por ‧ tion 1 S2 W2 AC /prəˈpɔːʃ ə n $ -ˈpɔːr-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: adverb : ↑ proportionally , ↑ proportionately ; adjective : ↑ proportional , ↑ proportionate ; verb : ↑ proportion ; noun : ↑ proportion ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin proportio , from portio ; ⇨ ↑ portion 1 ]
1 . PART OF SOMETHING [ C usually singular also + plural verb British English ] a part of a number or an amount, considered in relation to the whole
proportion of
The proportion of women graduates has increased in recent years.
Every parent is asked to contribute a proportion of the total cost.
high/large/small etc proportion
The decision affects a significant proportion of the population.
Although the majority of offenders are men, a small proportion – about five percent – are women.
2 . RELATIONSHIP [uncountable and countable] the relationship between two things in size, amount, importance etc
the proportion of something to something
What’s the proportion of boys to girls in your class?
in proportion to something
The rewards you get in this job are in direct proportion to the effort you put in.
3 . CORRECT SCALE [uncountable] the correct or most suitable relationship between the size, shape, or position of the different parts of something:
Builders must learn about scale and proportion.
in proportion
Reduce the drawing so that all the elements stay in proportion.
in proportion to something
Her feet are small in proportion to her height.
out of proportion with something
The porch is out of proportion with (=too big or too small when compared with) the rest of the house.
4 . proportions [plural]
a) the size or importance of something:
Try to reduce your tasks to more manageable proportions.
of immense/huge/massive etc proportions
an ecological tragedy of enormous proportions
of epic/heroic/mythic proportions
For most of us, Scott was a hero of mythic proportions.
crisis/epidemic proportions
The flu outbreak has reached epidemic proportions.
b) the relative sizes of the different parts of a building, object etc:
a building of classic proportions
the elegant proportions of the living room
5 . out of (all) proportion too big, great, or strong in relation to something
out of (all) proportion to/with
The fear of violent crime has now risen out of all proportion to the actual risk.
get/blow something out of proportion (=treat something as more serious than it really is)
Aren’t you getting things rather out of proportion?
The whole issue has been blown out of all proportion.
6 . keep something in proportion to react to a situation sensibly, and not think that it is worse or more serious than it really is ⇨ perspective :
Let’s keep things in proportion.
7 . sense of proportion the ability to judge what is most important in a situation
have/keep/lose a sense of proportion
You can protest by all means, but keep a sense of proportion.
8 . MATHEMATICS [uncountable] technical equality in the mathematical relationship between two sets of numbers, as in the statement ‘8 is to 6 as 32 is to 24’ ⇨ ratio
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 4)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + proportions
▪ enormous/massive/gigantic etc proportions
The company is heading towards a disaster of enormous proportions.
▪ epidemic proportions (=very great size, especially in a particular place)
Shoplifting has reached epidemic proportions.
▪ epic proportions (=very great size or importance)
An argument of epic proportions had ensued.
▪ mythic proportions (=a size or importance that seems almost unreal)
Achieving this was a feat of mythic proportions.
▪ historic proportions (=a size or importance that only rarely happens)
We were trapped for three days by a blizzard of historic proportions.
▪ crisis proportions (=a size that causes very serious problems)
The water shortage was reaching crisis proportions.
▪ manageable proportions (=a size that is easy to deal with)
First, narrow the choice down to more manageable proportions.
■ verbs
▪ reach epidemic etc proportions
Alcohol abuse has reached epidemic proportions in this country.
▪ grow to enormous etc proportions
The fish grows to gigantic proportions.
▪ assume epidemic etc proportions formal (=become or seem very great)
Unless you deal with it quickly, the damage may assume serious proportions.
▪ reduce something to manageable etc proportions
The disease had been reduced to negligible proportions by vaccination.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ amount how much of something there is:
Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.
|
a tiny amount of poison
▪ quantity a particular amount of food, liquid, or another substance that can be measured – used especially in written descriptions and instructions:
Make sure that you add the right quantity of milk.
|
They buy the wood in large quantities.
▪ volume the amount of something such as business activity or traffic, especially when this is large or increasing:
The volume of traffic on our roads has risen sharply.
|
the huge volume of trade with China
▪ level the exact amount of something at one time, which can go up or down at other times:
They measured the level of alcohol in his blood.
|
There is a high level of unemployment.
▪ proportion the amount of something, compared with the whole amount that exists:
the proportion of road accidents caused by drunk drivers
|
A high proportion of the students were from poor families.
▪ quota a maximum amount of something that can be produced, sold, brought into a country etc:
import quotas on Japanese cars
▪ yield /jiːld/ the amount of something that is produced, especially crops:
this year’s cotton yield
II. proportion 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive] formal
[ Word Family: adverb : ↑ proportionally , ↑ proportionately ; adjective : ↑ proportional , ↑ proportionate ; verb : ↑ proportion ; noun : ↑ proportion ]
to put something in a particular relationship with something else according to their relative size, amount, position etc
proportion something to something
The amount of damages awarded are proportioned to the degree of injury caused.