Meaning & use
apportion
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To divide something such as money, work, or space among people or purposes according to a plan or fair share.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with among or between: apportion the costs.
Patterns
- apportion something among someone
- apportion something between people
- apportion something to someone
The will apportions the land equally among the three children.
The council apportioned funds between schools and parks.
Each team member was apportioned a share of the workload.
verbtransitiveformallegal
To decide how much blame or responsibility belongs to each person involved.
Grammar: Often used with blame: apportion blame.
Patterns
- apportion blame
- apportion responsibility to someone
The court tried to apportion blame for the accident.
It is unfair to apportion all the fault to one driver.
The report apportions responsibility between the company and the contractor.
Word forms
| third person singular | apportions |
|---|---|
| past tense | apportioned |
| past participle | apportioned |
| -ing form | apportioning |
Common combinations
- apportion blame
- Nobody wants to apportion blame while the investigation continues.
- apportion costs
- The partners apportioned the costs by income.
- apportion funds
- The mayor must apportion funds fairly.
- apportion seats
- Seats in the house are apportioned by population.
- equally apportioned
- The inheritance was equally apportioned.
Synonyms and how they differ
- allocate
- Allocate means setting something aside for a purpose, while apportion stresses dividing it into shares.
- distribute
- Distribute is about handing things out, with no suggestion of fair proportions.
- divide
- Divide is the everyday word and carries no sense of proportion or plan.
- allot
- Allot suggests giving a fixed share or time slot, and is less formal than apportion.
Opposites
Word family
- apportionment noun
- the act of dividing something into shares
- portion noun
- a part or share of a whole
- proportion noun
- a part in relation to the whole
- proportionate adjective
- in correct relation to something else
Commonly confused: apportion or apportion vs. proportion?
apportion vs apportion vs. proportion
Apportion is a verb meaning to share out; proportion is a noun meaning a part compared with the whole.
Practice
The judge refused to ___ the blame equally, since one driver was clearly more at fault.
Choose one answer.
Apportion blame means divide blame among people. The other verbs do not collocate with blame in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “apportion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.