quota

quota — noun

1. a specific number or amount set by an authority as the maximum or minimum that a

1.nounB2
Definition

a specific number or amount set by an authority as the maximum or minimum that a person or group is allowed to have, produce, or use

Example

Canada set a new quota for skilled workers this year, accepting only 10,000 applications.

set a quota for [group] — official allocation limit

The company had already reached its monthly sales quota by the third week.

Common collocations
  • set a quota
  • impose a quota
  • meet a quota
  • reach a quota
  • exceed a quota
  • fill a quota
  • lift a quota
  • raise a quota
  • strict quota
  • annual quota
  • monthly quota
  • daily quota
  • production quota
  • sales quota
  • import quota
  • export quota
  • immigration quota
  • visa quota
Synonyms
  • limit

    broader term; a limit can be unofficial or self-imposed, while a quota is set by an authority

  • cap

    specifically a maximum limit; more informal and common in financial contexts

  • allocation

    focuses on distribution or assignment of shares, not necessarily a restriction

  • allowance

    emphasises what is permitted rather than what is restricted; usually a fixed amount given regularly

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a quota on + noun phrase

a quota of + number

verb + quota (set / meet / reach / exceed / fill)

Usage Note

Common in business, trade, immigration, and education contexts. A quota can be a maximum (imports, visas) or a minimum (production, sales targets). Common verb collocations include set, impose, meet, reach, exceed, fill, and lift.

Common Mistakes

The government set a quota of importing steel.
The government set a quota on imported steel.
use 'quota on [noun]' rather than 'quota of [verb-ing]' to specify the restricted item.

Word family

  • quotas
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe a boundary on quantity, but they differ in formality and scope. Limit is the broadest — it can be official or personal (a speed limit, a limit on screen time). Cap is an informal term for a maximum limit, common in finance (a spending cap) and does not imply a minimum. Allocation stresses distribution: a department receives its allocation of the budget, but that amount may be decided by need rather than by an upper bound. Allowance, like allocation, focuses on what one is permitted to receive (a daily allowance of water), but leans toward a regular, predictable amount. Quota is the most authoritative of the four, always set by an institution or governing body, and it often carries a sense of restriction: an import quota limits what can enter a country.

limit ↗cap ↗allocation ↗allowance ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • impose a quota on
  • fill a quota for
  • meet a quota of
  • reach a quota

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinEnglish

The word quota comes from Latin quota, the feminine form of quotus, meaning 'how many' or 'of what number'. In Medieval Latin the phrase quota pars ('how great a part') was used in accounting to refer to a proportional share. English borrowed quota in the mid-1600s, first as a term for a person's proportional share of a payment or tax. Over time it broadened to any officially fixed share or limit, including production targets, immigration caps, and trade restrictions.