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

Brentford weren't at their best, with injuries in the squad, but you have to be able to break through the lines and he did that a lot.

From BBC

They were in trouble, they knew it, and whatever was wrong - and it was a lot - would take time to fix.

From BBC

Some have a lot of exposure to tech stocks and believe gold could act as an uncorrelated asset should the artificial intelligence craze come to an end.

From Barron's

Nato has a lot of catching up to do.

From BBC

"There are a lot of examples in nature of allocating resources to survival under times of stress. It's exactly aligned with what we're seeing at the cellular level."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• entirely
• substantially
• totally
• wholly