plenty

American  

[plen-tee] / ˈplɛn ti /

noun

plural

plenties

1. a full or abundant supply or amount.

   There is plenty of time.

2. the state or quality of being plentiful; abundance.

   resources in plenty.

   Synonyms:

   affluence, luxuriance, copiousness, plenteousness

3. 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.

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adjective

1. existing in ample quantity or number; plentiful; abundant.

   Food is never too plenty in the area.

2. more than sufficient; ample.

   That helping is plenty for me.

adverb

1. Informal. fully; quite.

   plenty good enough.

plenty ¹ British  

/ ˈplɛntɪ /

noun

1. (often foll by of) a great number, amount, or quantity; lots

   plenty of time

   there are plenty of cars on display here

2. generous or ample supplies of wealth, produce, or resources

   the age of plenty

3. existing in abundance

   food in plenty

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determiner

1. 1. very many; ample

      plenty of people believe in ghosts

   2. ( as pronoun )

      there's plenty more

      that's plenty, thanks

adverb

1. not_standard (intensifier)

   he was plenty mad

2. informal more than adequately; abundantly

   the water's plenty hot enough

Plenty ² British  

/ ˈplɛntɪ /

noun

1. a large bay of the Pacific on the NE coast of the North Island, New Zealand

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plenty Idioms  

1. see under not the only fish in the sea.

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Usage

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.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• overplenty noun

Etymology

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

Explanation

If you've eaten your fill at a big meal, you know by your full stomach that you have had plenty. In fact, if you had more than plenty, you might even get the feeling you've had too much! The word plenty usually refers to more than just enough, and this comes, via Middle French plenté, from the Latin word plēnitās, "fullness," from plenus, "full, complete." The meaning is apparent in the following quote by English novelist George Eliot: "I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music." May you have plenty of what you need, and some of what you want as well.

Example Sentences

So, there's plenty more to the story in Balamory.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

But Toomey also sees plenty of reasons to expect that stocks can continue to run higher, although this could ultimately depend on how eager investors are to take advantage of more attractive valuations.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

There have been plenty of opportunities for Ohtani to give up pitching and focus all his efforts on hitting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

It has received plenty of price target upgrades, including one to $70 this week from a KeyBanc analyst.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

It wasn’t dark beyond the cave door—darkness would be something; darkness would mean that, with a little light, there’d be plenty to see.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• enough
• good deal
• luxury
• plethora
• quantity
• torrent
• wealth