sample

American  

[sam-puhl, sahm-] / ˈsæm pəl, ˈsɑm- /

noun

• samples
  plural

1. a small part of anything or one of a number, intended to show the quality, style, or nature of the whole; specimen.

2. Statistics. a subset of a population.

   to study a sample of the total population.

3. a sound of short duration, as a musical tone or a drumbeat, digitally stored in a synthesizer for playback.

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adjective

1. serving as a specimen.

   a sample piece of cloth.

verb (used with object)

• samples,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sampled,
  past participle,  past
• sampling
  present participle

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

sample British  

/ ˈsɑːmpəl /

noun

1. 1. a small part of anything, intended as representative of the whole; specimen

   2. ( as modifier )

      a sample bottle

2. 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 population See also matched sample

   2. ( as modifier )

      sample distribution

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verb

1. (tr) to take a sample or samples of

2. 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

sample Cultural  

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

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Synonym Usage

See example.

Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intersample
  noun
• missample
  verb
• resample
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• samples
  plural

Participles

• sampling
  present
• sampled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sample
  simple
• samples
  simple
• have sampled
  perfect
• has sampled
  perfect
• am sampling
  progressive
• are sampling
  progressive
• is sampling
  progressive
• have been sampling
  perfect progressive
• has been sampling
  perfect progressive

Past

• sampled
  simple
• had sampled
  perfect
• was sampling
  progressive
• were sampling
  progressive
• had been sampling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sample
  simple
• will have sampled
  perfect
• will be sampling
  progressive
• will have been sampling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sample

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

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Explanation

A sample is a small part of something that either represents a bigger whole or is designed to let you try something out. You might ask to try a sample of an exotic ice cream flavor before committing to buying a whole cone. Sample comes from the Old French essample, meaning "example." In social science experiments, researchers try to find a sample of people to study that is representative of the intended population as a whole. At the grocery store, you might be given a sample of peanut butter on a little cracker to entice you to buy it. In that case, you are given the chance to sample, or taste, the product.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sample samples sampled sampling

That’s crucial, since it means that the ratio has worked out of sample — a statistical gold standard.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

That’s down from 158 commercials across 16 games three years ago, before a matchup in the sample migrated to streaming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Kenyan Jepchirchir provided the sample prior to winning the Sydney Marathon on 30 August 2026.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

The relatively small sample means the findings cannot yet establish how radioactive particles behave throughout the entire contaminated region.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

The pattern was still a muddle—Wilkins was still hampered by the quality of his sample and the dryness of his chamber—but Watson was instantly gripped by it.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Evans also has a biotech start-up, Haemanthus, which is developing laser-based technology to analyze biological samples, an undertaking with echoes of Holmes’ failed blood-testing company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

To investigate the discovery, the scientists collected samples and preserved reference specimens in the Kunming Institute of Botany's collections.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

Of the three shop-floor technicians who handle and inspect samples, one has an associate degree, and another spent some time in college.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The song uses samples from two different speeches: toward the end, from Pedro Albizu Campos, but ironically the opening voice belongs to Carlos Romero Barceló, a pro-statehood governor reviled in pro-independence circles on the island.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Nyla lingered so long watching me and Epsilon-5 begin our defoliator project, I didn’t have time to test the samples.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

While this is Wakefield's first final and the same for many of their players, like coach Powell a select few have sampled the unique atmosphere of Old Trafford for Super League's showpiece event.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Additional, temporary seismometers and GPS units are deployed to provide more precise data, and gas and water are sampled more frequently.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

The score, while respectable, was still lower than a buffalo chicken Caesar she sampled in Syracuse and a Caesar wrap from Sweetgreen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Perry and her partner, Canada's former prime minister Justin Trudeau, sampled the delights of Mykonos.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Idly Cluny picked up a bowl of honeyed milk and sampled it.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

But he surely understood that this was an incautiously brief period of measurement, for the river’s annual flow was wildly variable, ranging from about 9.1 million to 25 million acre-feet during the 20-year sampling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Smaller bowls encourage sampling; larger ones let guests settle in with their favorites.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

"Such sampling strategy aimed to provide signals from distinct stages of a dog's life."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

The national governing body for triathlon in Wales said they are new sampling devices and used as part of a pioneering project funded by the insurance group Admiral.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

He was like a winetaster sampling an old claret.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

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Related Words

• case
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• piece
• sampling
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