plethora

American  

[pleth-er-uh] / ˈplɛθ ər ə /

noun

1. overabundance; excess.

   His crisis brought him a plethora of advice and an almost complete lack of assistance.

2. a large quantity or wide array; a lot.

   The co-op program offers a plethora of advantages for students.

   Visitors are drawn to the main beach, where a plethora of watersports can be enjoyed.

3. Pathology Archaic. a morbid condition due to excess of red corpuscles in the blood or increase in the quantity of blood.

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plethora British  

/ ˈplɛθərə, plɛˈθɒrɪk /

noun

1. superfluity or excess; overabundance

2. obsolete pathol a condition caused by dilation of superficial blood vessels, characterized esp by a reddish face

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Other Word Forms

• plethoric adjective
• plethorically adverb

Etymology

Origin of plethora

First recorded in 1535–45; from New Latin, from Greek plēthṓra “fullness,” from plḗthein “to fill, be full”; complete ( def. ), full ¹

Example Sentences

Raul's threat came alongside a plethora of Real Madrid number nines, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gonzalo Higuain...

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

The approach goes hands-in-hand with a burgeoning plethora of behind-the-scene sports documentaries, podcasts and even NFL player-backed fashion tie-ins.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

That could go beyond a one-page invoice to include a plethora of rows of data to support those payments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

First, he has transformed the 1.84-acre plot into a veritable oasis with the help of professional arborists who have planted a plethora of exotic trees throughout the front and back yards.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 26, 2025

Studies of ancient skeletons indicate that the transition to agriculture brought about a plethora of ailments, such as slipped discs, arthritis and hernias.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• deluge
• excess
• glut
• overabundance
• plenty
• profusion
• surfeit