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plenty

[ plen-tee ]
/ ˈplɛn ti /
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See synonyms for: plenty / plentier / plentiest on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural plen·ties.
a full or abundant supply or amount: There is plenty of time.
the state or quality of being plentiful; abundance: resources in plenty.
an abundance, as of goods or luxuries, or a time of such abundance: the plenty of a rich harvest; the plenty that comes with peace.
adjective
existing in ample quantity or number; plentiful; abundant: Food is never too plenty in the area.
more than sufficient; ample: That helping is plenty for me.
adverb
Informal. fully; quite: plenty good enough.
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Origin of plenty

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English plente, from Old French; replacing Middle English plenteth, from Old French plented, plentet, from Latin plēnitāt- (stem of plēnitās) “fullness.” See plenum, -ity

synonym study for plenty

2. Plenty, abundance, profusion refer to a large quantity or supply. Plenty suggests a supply that is fully adequate to any demands: plenty of money. Abundance implies a great plenty, an ample and generous oversupply: an abundance of rain. Profusion applies to such a lavish and excessive abundance as often suggests extravagance or prodigality: luxuries in great profusion.

usage note for plenty

The construction plenty of is standard in all varieties of speech and writing: plenty of room in the shed. The use of plenty preceding a noun, without an intervening of, first appeared in the late 19th century: plenty room in the shed. It occurs today chiefly in informal speech. As an adverb, a use first recorded in the mid-19th century, plenty is also informal and is found chiefly in speech or written representations of speech.

OTHER WORDS FROM plenty

o·ver·plen·ty, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plenty

abundance, plenty , profusion (see synonym study at the current entry)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plenty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plenty (1 of 2)

plenty
/ (ˈplɛntɪ) /

noun plural -ties
(often foll by of) a great number, amount, or quantity; lotsplenty of time; there are plenty of cars on display here
generous or ample supplies of wealth, produce, or resourcesthe age of plenty
in plenty existing in abundancefood in plenty
determiner
  1. very many; ampleplenty of people believe in ghosts
  2. (as pronoun)there's plenty more; that's plenty, thanks
adverb
not standard, mainly US (intensifier)he was plenty mad
informal more than adequately; abundantlythe water's plenty hot enough

Word Origin for plenty

C13: from Old French plenté, from Late Latin plēnitās fullness, from Latin plēnus full

British Dictionary definitions for plenty (2 of 2)

Plenty
/ (ˈplɛntɪ) /

noun
Bay of Plenty a large bay of the Pacific on the NE coast of the North Island, New Zealand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with plenty

plenty

see under not the only fish in the sea.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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