lot

¹ American  

[lot] / lɒt /

noun

1. one of a set of objects, such as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.

2. the casting or drawing of such objects as a method of deciding something.

   They would have to choose a winner by lot.

3. the decision or choice made by drawing or throwing a set of objects such as straws or pebbles.

4. allotted share or portion.

   With her lot of the inheritance, she built a business.

   Synonyms:

   quota, part

5. the portion in life assigned by fate or Providence; one's fate, fortune, or destiny.

   Her lot had not been a happy one.

6. a distinct portion or piece of land.

   a building lot.

7. a piece of land forming a part of a district, city, or other community.

   Synonyms:

   parcel, plot

8. South Midland and Southern U.S. a farmyard or barnyard.

9. a piece of land having the use specified by the attributive noun or adjective.

   a parking lot; a used-car lot.

10. Movies. a motion-picture studio and its surrounding property.

11. a distinct portion or parcel of anything, as of merchandise.

    The furniture was to be auctioned off in 20 lots.

12. a number of things or persons collectively.

    There's one more, and that's the lot.

    Synonyms:

    gang, crowd, group

13. kind of person; sort.

    He's a bad lot.

14. Often lots a great many or a great deal.

    a lot of books;

    lots of money.

15. Chiefly British. a tax or duty.

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verb (used with object)

lotted, lotting

1. to divide or distribute by lot (sometimes followed byout ).

   to lot furniture for sale; to lot out apples by the basketful.

2. to assign to a person as their lot; allot.

3. to divide into lots, as land.

4. Obsolete. to cast or draw lots for.

verb (used without object)

lotted, lotting

1. to draw lots.

adverb

1. Often lots a great deal; greatly.

   Thanks a lot for the ride.

   I care lots about my family.

idioms

1. cast (in) one's lot with, to ally oneself with; share the life and fortunes of.

   She had cast her lot with the bohemian crowd.

2. draw / cast lots, to settle a question by the use of lots.

   They drew lots to see who would go first.

Lot ² American  

[lot] / lɒt /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the nephew of Abraham, whose wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back during their flight from Sodom.

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Lot ³ American  

[lawt] / lɔt /

noun

1. a river in S France, flowing W to the Garonne. 300 miles (480 km) long.

2. a department in S France. 2,018 sq. mi. (5,225 sq. km). Cahors.

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lot. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) a lotion.

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lot ¹ British  

/ lɒt /

pronoun

1. a great number or quantity

   a lot to do

   a lot of people

   a lot of trouble

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noun

1. a collection of objects, items, or people

   a nice lot of youngsters

2. portion in life; destiny; fortune

   it falls to my lot to be poor

3. any object, such as a straw or slip of paper, drawn from others at random to make a selection or choice (esp in the phrase draw or cast lots )

4. the use of lots in making a selection or choice (esp in the phrase by lot )

5. an assigned or apportioned share

6. an item or set of items for sale in an auction

7. an area of land

   a parking lot

8. a piece of land with fixed boundaries

9. a film studio and the site on which it is located

10. an unpleasant or disreputable person

11. to join with voluntarily and share the fortunes of

12. the entire amount or number

adverb

1. to a considerable extent, degree, or amount; very much

   to delay a lot

2. a great deal of the time or often

   to sing madrigals a lot

verb

1. to draw lots for (something)

2. (tr) to divide (land, etc) into lots

3. (tr) another word for allot

Lot ² British  

/ lɒt /

noun

1. a department of S central France, in Midi-Pyrénées region. Capital: Cahors. Pop: 164 413 (2003 est). Area: 5226 sq km (2038 sq miles)

2. a river in S France, rising in the Cévennes and flowing west into the Garonne River. Length: about 483 km (300 miles)

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Lot ³ British  

/ lɒt /

noun

1. Old Testament Abraham's nephew: he escaped the destruction of Sodom, but his wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back as they fled (Genesis 19)

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lot More Idioms  

1. see a lot; carry (a lot of) weight; cast one's lot with; fat chance (lot); have (a lot) going for one; have a lot on one's plate; leave a lot to be desired; quite a bit (lot); think a lot of.

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Other Word Forms

• interlot verb (used with object)
• lotter noun
• sublot noun
• unlotted adjective

Etymology

Origin of lot¹

First recorded before 950; 1805–15 lot for def. 14; Middle English; Old English hlot “portion, choice, decision”; cognate with Dutch lot, Old Norse hlutr; akin to Old English hlīet, German Los, Old Norse hlaut, Gothic hlauts “lot”

Origin of lot.⁴

From the Latin word lōtiō

Explanation

A lot is a plot of land. When you buy a house, you also buy the lot on which it sits. If there's an empty lot in your neighborhood, it means there's a space covered with grass or pavement that's large enough for a house or building to fit there. Another kind of lot is a set or group of items. At an auction or estate sale, you might find a lot of antique silver spoons for sale, or a lot of comic books — in either case, the lot is a collection.

Example Sentences

Another big takeaway from the Bessembinder paper is that stock-market performance has become a lot more concentrated in recent years, with fewer stocks accounting for the stock market’s total gain.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

And even with the 28 ideas that I came out with in the first two days, it was a lot.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

All of the people who became obsessed with its product cost the company a lot of money and a lot of computing power.

From Slate • Apr. 14, 2026

"It was a hell of a task...a lot of trial and error," he recalled.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

That wasn’t a lot, but it would have been a good start.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• abundance
• bunch
• collection
• crowd
• group
• load
• much
• number
• plenty
• set