What does "lot" mean?
A large quantity or number; a great deal.
Lot
/lɒt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large quantity or number; a great deal.
- Grammar: lot is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: mass, abundance, deal, great deal.
- Useful contrasts: dearth, insufficiency, modicum.
- Usage evidence: I hate it when there are a lot of people.
How to use "lot"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lot" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lot" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lot" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lot" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lot" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "mass" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lot", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large quantity or number; a great deal.
"win the whole lot (of money); i.e. jackpot"
- 2 anything (straws or pebbles etc.) taken or chosen at random wordnet
- 3 A separate, appropriated portion; a quantized, subdivided set consisting a whole.
"a lot of stationery"
- 4 any collection in its entirety wordnet
- 5 One or more items auctioned or sold as a unit, separate from other items.
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 an unofficial association of people or groups wordnet
- 7 A number of people taken collectively. informal
"a sorry lot"
- 8 a parcel of land having fixed boundaries wordnet
- 9 A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field.
"a building lot in a city"
- 10 (often followed by ‘of’) a large number or amount or extent wordnet
- 11 That which happens without human design or forethought.
"But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay."
- 12 your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you) wordnet
- 13 Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will.
"to cast lots"
- 14 The part, or fate, that falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without one's planning.
"O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's / Enough to bear."
- 15 A prize in a lottery.
"In the lottery[…] Sir R. Haddock one of the Commissrs of the Navy had the greatest lot, £3000 ; my coachman £ 40"
- 16 Allotment; lottery.
"Archons served only for one year and, since 487/6, they were chosen by lot. Generals, on the other hand, were chosen by direct election and could be reelected without limit."
- 17 All members of a set; everything. definite
"The table was loaded with food, but by evening there was nothing but crumbs; we had eaten the lot."
- 18 An old unit of weight used in many European countries from the Middle Ages, often defined as 1/30 or 1/32 of a (local) pound. historical
Verb
- 1 To allot; to sort; to apportion. dated, transitive
"Sometimes the contractor would lot the work out to some sub-contractor, and he, after the men had worked for a month, would run away, and we should never see the colour of his money."
- 2 administer or bestow, as in small portions wordnet
- 3 To count or reckon (on or upon). US, dated, informal
- 4 divide into lots, as of land, for example wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A nephew of Abraham in the Bible and Quran.
"And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came."
- 2 A department of Occitania, France. Capital: Cahors (INSEE code 46). error-lua-exec
- 3 A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin; rare today.
- 4 A right tributary of the Garonne, in southern France, flowing through the departments of Lozère, Cantal, Aveyron, Lot and Lot-et-Garonne. error-lua-exec
Antonyms
Example
"I hate it when there are a lot of people."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lot"?
Common synonyms include: mass, abundance, deal, great deal, heap, mickle.
How do you use "lot" in a sentence?
I hate it when there are a lot of people.
How do you pronounce "lot"?
Pronounced /lɒt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lot, from Old English hlot (“portion, choice, decision”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlut, from Proto-Germanic *hlutą. Cognate with North Frisian lod, Saterland Frisian Lot, West Frisian lot, Dutch lot, French lot, German Low German Lott, Middle High German luz. Doublet of lotto. Related also to German Los.
Etymology 2
From Hebrew לוֹט (lot). Doublet of Lut.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from French Lot.