From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishportionpor‧tion1 /ˈpɔːʃən $ ˈpɔːr-/ ●●○ AWL noun 1 [countable]PART a part of something larger, especially a part that is different from the other partsportion 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]DFAMOUNT 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]SHARE a share of something, such as responsibility, blame, or a duty, that is divided between a small number of peopleportion of The other driver must bear a portion of the blame for the accident.COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: a part of something larger, especially a part that is different from the other partsadjectiveslargeTemperatures 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 portionA small portion of western Croatia remained under Habsburg control. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: an amount of food for one person, especially when served in a restaurantadjectivesbig/largeI 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.
Examples from the Corpus
portion• Of course, a basic corollary of the theory is that deep drilling should uncover a portion of these massive methane resources.• My mother always gave the boys bigger portions than she gave me.• In a flood of tears, some my own, she presented me with four frozen chicken portions.• The money should be shared out in equal portions between all members of the family.• It boasts an overly generous portion of violence.• The Central Area pulled all these parts together, as it were, and made them interdependent portions of the whole.• In another similarity to a primary contest, political activists say a surprisingly large portion of the Iowa Republicans remain undecided.• Fuel is carried in the lower portion of the rocket.• A major portion of the budget is spent on defence.• Most of the profit goes to the retailer; some goes to the middleman, and the remaining portion goes to the producer.• Surgeons have had to remove portions of his stomach and intestine.• The research suggests we only use a small portion of our brains at any one time.• Each such portion may be replaced by another portion which is deemed to be equal to it according to the list.• She is concerned about the size of the portions of food I eat.• Thus housekeeping allowances might bear little relation to the portion of the husband's net income devoted to collective expenditure.• Two portions of French fries please.significant/substantial/major/good portion• After Edward II's overthrow in 1326 he was restored and he received back a substantial portion of his estates.• A finance lease lasts for a substantial portion of the life of an asset.• In a partnership a trader was required to keep a substantial portion of his wealth in the firm.• Improving Computational Models A significant portion of neural network research centers on the improvement of computational models.• Everyone used to fight to get to the front of the queue, as that way you usually got better portions.generous portions• The low prices and generous portions account for the ubiquitous lines, which almost always extend out the door.• When available, parts from male fryers provide more generous portions than parts from female fryers.portionportion2 verb → portion something ↔ out→ See Verb tableOrigin portion1 (1300-1400) Old French Latin portio 