ration
verbEtymology From French ration. Doublet of reason and ratio.
1
To supply with a ration; to limit (someone) to a specific allowance of something.
- We rationed ourselves to three sips of water a day until we were rescued.
2
To portion out (especially during a shortage of supply); to limit access to.
- By the third day on the raft, we had to ration our water.
- But as our urban lives have grown more pressed for time, we have diced our opportunity costs finer and finer; from budgeting days or slabs of hours, we have come to rationing minutes.2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2020:
3
To restrict (an activity etc.)
- I've rationed myself to one cup of coffee a day.
- Our present health care system is rationed only to those who can afford it because of unnecessary high cost, lack of insurance coverage by 47 million people, and exorbitant prescription prices.
1 more example
- A theocratic state in which an equation is drawn between the Catholic hierarchy and God and the rights of citizens may be rationed by the church according to its doctrines.1986 December 21, F. Jay Deacon, “Emotionally-Laden Prejudice”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 23, page 4:
- Synonyms
- Hooverize
- Derived terms
- deration, rationable, rationer