plenty

[ plen-tee ]

noun

, plural plen·ties.

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: copiousness, plenteousness, affluence, luxuriance

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.

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

/ ˈplɛntɪ /

noun

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

plenty

²

/ 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. in plenty
   in plenty existing in abundance

   food in plenty

determiner

1. 1. very many; ample

      plenty of people believe in ghosts

   2. ( as pronoun )

      that's plenty, thanks

      there's plenty more

adverb

1. not_standard.
   (intensifier)

   he was plenty mad

2. informal.
   more than adequately; abundantly

   the water's plenty hot enough

Usage Note

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

• over·plenty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plenty¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of plenty¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see under not the only fish in the sea .

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

It may be that iciness is the main threat, but plenty of time for things to change.

From Washington Post

Consider rechargeable hand warmersIf you’re ready to get a little more high-tech, there are plenty of rechargeable hand warmers out there.

From Popular-Science

Still, that left plenty of room for smaller tech companies to crack us up.

From Fortune

From day trips to private rentals, there are plenty of options to take in the park’s shoreline from a sailboat.

From Outside Online

By keeping it in a refrigerator, you’ll buy yourself plenty of time before the mold starts to grow.

From Popular-Science

Plenty of Jewish kids today grow up with a Christmas tree next to their menorah.

From The Daily Beast

These days, plenty of women are turning to online sites for no-frills male companionship.

From The Daily Beast

Well, there are plenty of nerdy zingers hidden in those thousands of pages.

From The Daily Beast

If 2014 was any indication, the coming TV schedule is sure to be filled with plenty of water-cooler shows.

From The Daily Beast

In the event, the enemy did plenty—far more than SHAEF, or for that matter the German high command, imagined possible.

From The Daily Beast

But men we had known and trails we had followed furnished us plenty of grist for the conversational mill.

From Project Gutenberg

With twelve hundred foes around us, we had plenty to occupy all our thoughts and attention.

From Project Gutenberg

He likes to have plenty of time to express all his ideas and tell you a good many anecdotes in between!

From Project Gutenberg

Oh yes, you will find plenty of them in the course of a few days, if you hold on the course you are going.

From Project Gutenberg

Ships did little exploring in the Belt now—plenty of untouched rocks there but nothing really unknown.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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