quota

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quo·ta / ˈkwōtə/ • n. a limited or fixed number or amount of people or things, in particular: ∎  a limited quantity of a particular product that under official controls can be produced, exported, or imported: the country may be exceeding its OPEC quota of 1,100,000 barrels of oil per day. ∎  a fixed share of something that a person or group is entitled to receive from a total: the Faeroe Islands' commercial salmon quota. ∎  a person's share of something that must be done: they were arrested to help fill the quota of arrests the security police had to make during the crackdown. ∎  a fixed minimum or maximum number of a particular group of people allowed to do something, as immigrants to enter a country, workers to undertake a job, or students to enroll for a course: they demanded a quota for women on the committee. ∎  (in a system of proportional representation) the minimum number of votes required to elect a candidate. ∎ fig. a person's share of a particular thing, quality, or attribute: an Irishman with a double ration of blarney and a treble quota of charm.

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