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Definition of "proportion" []

  • A part considered in relation to the whole. (noun)
  • A relationship between things or parts of things with respect to comparative magnitude, quantity, or degree: the proper proportion between oil and vinegar in the dressing. (noun)
  • A relationship between quantities such that if one varies then another varies in a manner dependent on the first: "We do not always find visible happiness in proportion to visible virtue” ( Samuel Johnson). (noun)
  • Agreeable or harmonious relation of parts within a whole; balance or symmetry. (noun)
  • Dimensions; size. Often used in the plural. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "proportion" in a sentence
  • "When one proportion of a body is combined with two or more proportions of anotlier, it seems to enter with more difficulty into new combinations, than when it is combined wiUi one proportion*"
  • "The change in proportion is also moderated by the assumption that population growth is all in England but I want to err on the side of caution."
  • "Although generally attributed to Leonardo Pisano, il Figlio di (son of) Bonacci, this proportion is also found in the measurements of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25): 2.5 cubits long by 1.5 cubits wide and high (1.5/2.5 = 0.6)."