ample
Americanadjective
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fully sufficient or more than adequate for the purpose or needs; plentiful; enough: ample time to finish.
an ample supply of water;
ample time to finish.
-
of sufficient or abundant measure; liberal; copious.
an ample reward.
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of adequate or more than adequate extent, size, or amount; large; spacious; roomy.
ample storage space.
adjective
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more than sufficient; abundant
an ample helping
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large in size, extent, or amount
of ample proportions
Usage
What does ample mean? Ample means enough—sufficient or adequate. It can also mean more than enough—plentiful or abundant. It is often used in the context of things like time, room, space, supplies, or resources (such as food and money) to indicate that there is enough or more than enough of what is needed. Sometimes, ample means large in size, extent, or amount, as in It was an ample tract of land. Ample can be used in front of a noun, as in We have ample funds to cover the purchase, or elsewhere in the sentence, as in The payment was ample. The adverb form of ample is amply, meaning sufficiently or abundantly, as in He gave amply to charity. Example: There was no one else there, so there was ample space to spread out.
Synonym Usage
See plentiful. Ample, liberal, copious, profuse describe degrees of abundant provision. Ample implies a plentiful provision: to give ample praise. Liberal implies provision from a generous supply (more than ample but less than copious ): Liberal amounts of food were distributed to people who needed it. Copious implies an apparently inexhaustible and lavish abundance: a copious flow of tears. Profuse implies a still more unrestrained abundance of provision or flow: profuse in his apologies.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ample
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin amplus “wide, large”
Explanation
Ample describes an abundance of something. An ample supply of apple muffins at the bake sale is a good thing, as is ample legroom in your new van — but if the vet notices your dog's ample waistline, you might have to put Fido on a diet. Like amplify (crank up the volume), ample is from the Latin word amplus, meaning "large or spacious." Ample can be enough or even too much of something. It's great when there's ample parking or ample snacks for a hike, and we'd all be happy if we had ample time and money. But there are things that some people don't want more of — if your principal has ample evidence that you started the food fight in the cafeteria, you're probably going to end up in detention.
Vocabulary lists containing ample
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "A"
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
House prices in Melbourne, Australia, have lagged considerably amid ample construction and pandemic-era outbound migration.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
House prices in Melbourne, Australia, have lagged considerably amid ample construction and pandemic-era outbound migration.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The most satisfying aspect about long-form television, Cage thinks, is the ample space allowed to collaborate in shaping his character over the course of the production.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
UBS analyst Brian Meredith has a Buy rating and $235 price target, citing a resilient business model and ample capital returns.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
He hoisted his trousers around his ample middle.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
