plethora
Americannoun
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overabundance; excess.
His crisis brought him a plethora of advice and an almost complete lack of assistance.
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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.
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Pathology Archaic. a morbid condition due to excess of red corpuscles in the blood or increase in the quantity of blood.
noun
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superfluity or excess; overabundance
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obsolete pathol a condition caused by dilation of superficial blood vessels, characterized esp by a reddish face
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of plethora
First recorded in 1535–45; from New Latin, from Greek plēthṓra “fullness,” from plḗthein “to fill, be full”; see also complete ( def. ), full 1
Explanation
Plethora means an abundance or excess of something. If you have 15 different people who want to take you on a date, you have a plethora of romantic possibilities. Plethora comes from the Greek for "fullness." Although it was originally used only in old-fashioned medicine to describe the condition of having too much blood, we use it to talk about any excessive supply. If you run a theater and all the seats are taken, that's a full house. But if the seats are full and people are standing in the aisles, you have a plethora of patrons. The stress is on the first syllable: PLETH-uh-ruh.
Vocabulary lists containing plethora
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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This Week in Words: October 21- 27, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The indie singer-songwriter fills his new record with a plethora of musical references while using quiet locales to meditate on heady concepts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
When it’s all done, I am treated to a plethora of snacks and a complimentary sticker.
From Slate • May 9, 2026
Rare earths, which are used in a plethora of high-tech products, are growing in strategic importance, and the U.S. wants to have a domestic supply chain.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
Raul's threat came alongside a plethora of Real Madrid number nines, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gonzalo Higuain...
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026
It was a luxury hotel in the heart of New York City's garment district, where a plethora of Jewish-owned department stores sold their wares.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
