sample

[sam-puh l, sahm-]

See more synonyms for sample on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small part of anything or one of a number, intended to show the quality, style, or nature of the whole; specimen.
Statistics. a subset of a population: to study a sample of the total population.
a sound of short duration, as a musical tone or a drumbeat, digitally stored in a synthesizer for playback.

adjective

serving as a specimen: a sample piece of cloth.

verb (used with object), sam·pled, sam·pling.

to take a sample or samples of; test or judge by a sample.

Origin of sample

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English word from Old French word essample. See example

Related formsin·ter·sam·ple, noun, adjective, verb (used with object), in·ter·sam·pled, in·ter·sam·pling.mis·sam·ple, verb, mis·sam·pled, mis·sam·pling.re·sam·ple, verb (used with object), re·sam·pled, re·sam·pling.

Synonym study

1. See example.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sample

Contemporary Examples

The astronomers found that of the 93 quasars in the sample, 19 exhibited a measurable amount of polarization.
The Black Hole Tango
Matthew R. Francis
November 24, 2014
In West Africa at the present, an Ebola test can take four days or more and that is if the sample is not lost.
From Ebola Country to NYC’s Subways
Michael Daly
October 25, 2014
Sample reportedly told her “to drop the matter” and not discuss it with anybody else.
Speed Read: James Risen Indicts The War On Terror’s Costly Follies
William O’Connor
October 14, 2014
Virginia is one of the 29 states that requires arrestees to submit a DNA sample to be entered into CODIS.
Stopping the Next Campus Kidnapper
Caitlin Dickson
October 8, 2014
Ever since Eve urged Adam to sample the forbidden fruit, men have been doing crazy things in the name of love.
Boy Shaves Stash, Gets the Girl: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez Forever
Amy Zimmerman
August 21, 2014

Historical Examples

They say the more yuh hurry the less yuh'll git along, an' that's a sample.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
It may serve as a sample of his wool, for invariably it is home made.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
Get from a wall-paper dealer a sample of a frieze for a papered room.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
A trial will convince anyone—and you may have a sample bottle free by mail.
The Mayflower, January, 1905
Various
To this sample of a modern tribune I will add a specimen of a modern legislator.
Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud, Complete
Lewis Goldsmith

British Dictionary definitions for sample

sample

noun

1. a small part of anything, intended as representative of the whole; specimen
2. (as modifier)a sample bottle
Also called: sampling statistics
1. a set of individuals or items selected from a population for analysis to yield estimates of, or to test hypotheses about, parameters of the whole population. A biased sample is one in which the items selected share some property which influences their distribution, while a random sample is devised to avoid any such interference so that its distribution is affected only by, and so can be held to represent, that of the whole populationSee also matched sample
2. (as modifier)sample distribution

verb

(tr) to take a sample or samples of
music
1. to take a short extract from (one record) and mix it into a different backing track
2. to record (a sound) and feed it into a computerized synthesizer so that it can be reproduced at any pitch

Word Origin

C13: from Old French essample, from Latin exemplum example

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

Word Origin and History for sample

n.

c.1300, "something which confirms a proposition or statement," from Anglo-French saumple, a shortening of Old French essample, from Latin exemplum "a sample" (see example). Meaning "small quantity (of something) from which the general quality (of the whole) may be inferred" (usually in a commercial sense) is recorded from early 15c.; sense of "specimen for scientific sampling" is from 1878. As an adjective from 1820.

v.

"to test by taking a sample," 1767, from sample (n.). Earlier "to be a match for" (1590s). Related: Sampled; sampling.

sample in Culture

sample

In statistics, a group drawn from a larger population and used to estimate the characteristics of the whole population.

Note

Opinion polls use small groups of people, often selected at random, as a sample of the opinions of the general public.

sample

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Synonym study

Examples from the Web for sample

Contemporary Examples

The astronomers found that of the 93 quasars in the sample, 19 exhibited a measurable amount of polarization.

In West Africa at the present, an Ebola test can take four days or more and that is if the sample is not lost.

Sample reportedly told her “to drop the matter” and not discuss it with anybody else.

Virginia is one of the 29 states that requires arrestees to submit a DNA sample to be entered into CODIS.

Ever since Eve urged Adam to sample the forbidden fruit, men have been doing crazy things in the name of love.

Historical Examples

They say the more yuh hurry the less yuh'll git along, an' that's a sample.

It may serve as a sample of his wool, for invariably it is home made.

Get from a wall-paper dealer a sample of a frieze for a papered room.

A trial will convince anyone—and you may have a sample bottle free by mail.

To this sample of a modern tribune I will add a specimen of a modern legislator.

sample

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for sample

n.

v.

sample

Note

Origin of sample