lot

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“
Useless to protest that we had desired but one of them to perform: they pursued us into the open, and even clung to our knees, and of course we paid--afterwards to learn that one rupee for the lot was a lavish guerdon One meets with these divers continually, wherever there is a pool sacred or otherwise; but some actually leap into the water and do not merely drop.

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Definitions (54)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (16)

  1. noun Informal A large extent, amount, or number. Often used in the plural: is in a lot of trouble; has lots of friends.
  2. noun Informal Used adverbially with a or in the plural to mean "to a great degree or extent” or "frequently”: felt a lot better; ran lots faster; doesn't go out a whole lot; has seen her lots lately.
  3. noun A piece of land having specific boundaries, especially one constituting a part of a city, town, or block.
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Examples (50)

  • But a lot was at stake: a glimpse into the brain of Cameron's Conservative Party, or at least how he would like them to think. —  European Tribune
  • "Talking about credibility with this lot is a contradiction in terms both internationally and domestically," said
  • Just inside the entrance to the lot is a fire lane along the back entrances of the stores and people were having difficulty coming into the lot because a car was parked right there, blocking one side of the entryway. —  Queens Crap
  • "The best of the lot is the 157 bhp Fiat Ducato 3-litre MultiJet allied to the Comfort-Matic," says leading Which Motorcaravan judge Michael Le Caplain. —  Automotive Headlines
  • What distinguishes Rittner from the lot is his rock-solid keyboard playing and the Bösendorfer simply rings out sounds on the glorious side - specially when heard on the 2+2+2 option with a much narrowed focused sound - this is not a 30 ft. wide stage sound! —  Audiophile Audition Headlines
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

kind ·  plenty ·  bite ·  amount ·  none ·  couple ·  bunch ·  portion ·  variety ·  picture ·  sign ·  collection

Used in the same contextWord Family

lot:   lots
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English hlot.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English lot, from Anglo-Saxon hlot (also in deriv. forms hlēt, hliēt, hly¯t, hly¯te) = Old Saxon hlōt = OFries. hlot = Dutch lot = Middle Low German lot, lōt = Old High German hlōz, lōz, Middle High German lōz, German los, loos, lot, share, = Icelandic hlautr, hlutr, share, offering, = Danish lod = Swedish lott, lot, share, = Gothic (Moesogothic) hlauts, lot, share, portion (cf. Italian lotto (later Spanish Portuguese lote) = French lot, from Middle Latin lottum, lot, from Teutonic); from a strong verb, Anglo-Saxon hleótan (preterit hleát, plural hluton, past participle hloten) = Old Saxon hliotan = Old High German liozan, Middle High German liezen = Icelandic hljōta = Gothic (Moesogothic) hliutan (not recorded), obtain by lot. Hence, through F., lottery and allot.
  2. from lot, n. Cf. allot.
 

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/lɑt/
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