parcel out

Verb

parcel out (third-person singular simple present parcels out, present participle (US) parceling out or (UK) parcelling out, simple past and past participle (US) parceled out or (UK) parcelled out)

1. (idiomatic) To divide into portions or chunks; to ration.
   • It's a large job, but if we parcel it out among several people over several weeks, it shouldn't be too difficult.
2. To assign.
   • Jem parceled out our roles: I was Mrs. Radley, and all I had to do was come out and sweep the porch. Dill was old Mr. Radley: he walked up and down the sidewalk and coughed when Jem spoke to him. Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC