a lot

American  

[uh lot] / ə ˈlɒt /

noun

1. lot.

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adverb

1. lot.

a lot Idioms  

1. Very many, a large number; also, very much. For example, A lot of people think the economy is declining, or Sad movies always made her cry a lot. It is sometimes put as a whole lot for greater emphasis, as in I learned a whole lot in his class. It may also emphasize a comparative indication of amount, as in We need a whole lot more pizza to feed everyone, or Mary had a lot less nerve than I expected. [Colloquial; early 1800s]

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Spelling

As a noun and adverb, a lot is frequently misspelled as alot.

Etymology

Origin of a lot

First recorded in 1820–30

Compare meaning

How does a-lot compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• allot vs. a lot

Example Sentences

"There's a lot of eyes looking at these, so we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we're producing, we're protecting every single victim," he said on Friday.

From BBC

Whether all this leads to an improvement in the attitude of consumers remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: The actions of consumers speak a lot louder than their words.

From MarketWatch

Looking for the right financial adviser is a lot like dating.

From MarketWatch

Whether all this leads to an improvement in the attitude of consumers remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: The actions of consumers speak a lot louder than their words.

From MarketWatch

“No gimmicks — just smart repositioning of assets that creates a lot of flexibility going forward,” he said.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• entirely
• substantially
• totally
• wholly