These group is concerned with the parcelling out of a quantity, such as money or goods, among the members of a group. Divide is the most general of these and says the least about what means are used in the process. When two people or groups are to share in the quantity, the word carries than you, let’s divide the profits between us. This is not invariably true, however, and when more than two shares are involved, the implication of equality disappears completely: thieves and pirates, according to legend, often divide their spoils unfairly.

Assign , allot and allocate also carry no implication of a fair or equal division, but all three words suggest that someone in authority has determined how the quantity is to be divided among the group he represents or controls. Of these, assign is the least and allocate the most formal. Assign carries the strongest implication of arbitrariness on the part of the one who assigns . The quantity being parcelled out, furthermore is more often tasks or roles than goods or money: how many chapters did the master assign for homework? Allot implies the matching of items on one list to those on another: I’ve allotted six dollars a month for bus fares and twenty dollars a month for lunches. Allocate , as well as being the most formal of these three, is the most specific. It is most often used of a governing body’s action in setting aside a fixed sum of money for a government programme. Outside this governmental context, the word would seem forced and stiff.

• Council allocated $200,000 for the new swimming-pool project.

Distribute is most used for the dispersing of a quantity in space or among the scattered members of a group.

• The paperback edition of a book is usually more widely distributed than the hard-cover version; This year, the company decided not to distribute dividends to its shareholders.

The three remaining terms all imply a process of division that is equal, fair or judicious ?based on some fixed plan or equitable rule. Ration is specifically used for a method of sharing or distributing some scarce commodity when demand exceeds supply. It usually but not necessarily suggests a method of distribution based on need.

• In wartime, meat and petrol are often rationed .

Dole out refers to a distribution, usually to needy or claimant people, and so carries the implication of rationing in small amounts or in a niggardly manner: the captain dole out the last of the food among his men. To apportion is to determine the composition of a smaller group in proportion to a larger group. It most strongly suggests a just and fair parcelling out, based on some objective standard: the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional those state legislatures apportioned on any other basis than population.