1
: a proportional part or share
especially
: the share or proportion assigned to each in a division or to each member of a body
2
: the number or amount constituting a proportional share
3
: a fixed number or percentage of minority group members or women needed to meet the requirements of affirmative action
Synonyms
Examples of quota in a Sentence
The agency imposes strict fishing quotas.
The company has imposed quotas on hiring.
He lost his driver's license because he exceeded the quota of traffic violations.
The department set new sales quotas in January.
Recent Examples on the Web
Its concerns revolve around the possibility that these programs, including one requiring that at least half of producer and writing staff come from underrepresented groups, establish discriminatory hiring quotas.
—
Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, there have been raids in major U.S. cities and officials have issued daily quotas in an effort to increase immigration arrests as part of the administration’s deportation campaign.
—Victoria Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2025
The potential existence of targets or quotas has raised concerns among immigration advocates, who argue that numerical targets may lead to indiscriminate detentions rather than focusing on individuals with criminal records.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
The first is a system of automatically ratcheting tariffs or quotas on products and parts produced in China.
—Eyck Freymann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for quota 
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Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, there have been raids in major U.S. cities and officials have issued daily quotas in an effort to increase immigration arrests as part of the administration’s deportation campaign.
—Victoria Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2025
The potential existence of targets or quotas has raised concerns among immigration advocates, who argue that numerical targets may lead to indiscriminate detentions rather than focusing on individuals with criminal records.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
The first is a system of automatically ratcheting tariffs or quotas on products and parts produced in China.
—Eyck Freymann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for quota
Dictionary Entries Near quota
Cite this Entry
“Quota.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quota. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quota
noun
quo·ta
ˈkwōt-ə 
1
: a share or part assigned to each member of a group
2
: the number or amount making up a quota
Legal Definition
quota
noun
quo·ta
ˈkwō-tə
1
: a proportional part or share assigned to each in a body
2
: a specific amount that serves as a minimum or maximum
a law against traffic ticket quotas
Etymology
Medieval Latin, from Latin quota pars how great a part
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