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

See Examples For:

a lot

The wet weather will be welcome for parched regions of the UK, but a lot more will be needed before drought conditions start to ease.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

“There’s a lot more toughness going on, and we’ve had to be a little bit tougher in the last couple of years as conditions have gotten so much weaker.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

“There aren’t a lot of metrics available now,” McMahon said.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

“I feel like I’ve reached a stage where I’ve got quite a lot of money saved. My wife, Maddy, and I are in good shape. We’re thankful for that.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026

I haven’t been here in a while, since my middle school library had every book I wanted, but we used to come a lot.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• entirely
• substantially
• totally
• wholly