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)

sampled, sampling

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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Related Words

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

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

Etymology

Origin of sample

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

Example Sentences

The risks of such sample errors have grown in recent years, as the number of employers responding to the BLS’s jobs survey has declined.

From The Wall Street Journal

To untangle the effects of genetics and experience, the research team analyzed blood samples from 110 people with diverse backgrounds.

From Science Daily

Early on, Corby sent a sample program to the national team coordinator, just to let them know what they were up to.

From The Wall Street Journal

This survey was a very small sample, but it’s far from unusual.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some analyse chemical bonds to compare them against genuine honey samples.

From BBC

Related Words

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