sample

American  

[sam-puhl, sahm-] / ˈsæm pəl, ˈsɑm- /

noun

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

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has sampled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have sampled
  perfect
• am sampling
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been sampling
  perfect progressive
• has been sampling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• samples
  singular 3rd person
• sampling
  participle
• is sampling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are sampling
  progressive

Past

• had sampled
  perfect
• had been sampling
  perfect progressive
• sampled
  simple
• sampled
  participle
• was sampling
  progressive singular
• were sampling
  progressive plural

Future

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

Etymology

Origin of sample

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

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

Doctors take a small sample of cartilage from a patient’s nose, use it to grow new cartilage in the lab, and then surgically implant it into damaged knee joints.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

On my recent visit, I booked a 45-minute session where I could sample some of the offerings she is bringing to New York.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Beauty Pie said it was tested by 28 people aged 30 to 65 over four weeks but the Advertising Standards Authority said this was a "relatively small" sample size.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

The sample included gorillas, orangutans, macaques, colobus monkeys, fossil apes and more.

From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026

Hunter handed Washington a sample of his ability to swipe intelligence material—a letter that was supposed to go to the commanding officer of British forces in Canada.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

Related Words

• case
• fragment
• pattern
• piece
• sampling
• specimen