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
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
Other than that, that’s a good quota for nine women.
—
Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 June 2025
The protests come as Trump has been feuding with Democrat leaders in California over his response to protests sparked increasingly aggressive anti-immigration enforcement actions from his administration, including several surprise workplace raids across the country and increased arrest quotas.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is limiting ocean fishing under quotas in two windows in the summer and fall.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
The governor also worked with labor to craft legislation inspired by concerns over Amazon’s use of quotas and biometric surveillance to manage its warehouse workers.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
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Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 June 2025
The protests come as Trump has been feuding with Democrat leaders in California over his response to protests sparked increasingly aggressive anti-immigration enforcement actions from his administration, including several surprise workplace raids across the country and increased arrest quotas.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is limiting ocean fishing under quotas in two windows in the summer and fall.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025
The governor also worked with labor to craft legislation inspired by concerns over Amazon’s use of quotas and biometric surveillance to manage its warehouse workers.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for quota
Cite this Entry
“Quota.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quota. Accessed 17 Jun. 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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