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.
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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.
Related Words
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
- ampleness noun
Etymology
Origin of ample
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin amplus “wide, large”
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.
Meanwhile, fuel imports from Russia could remain stable due to its ample supply and close bilateral ties.
However, because it sits in a gated parcel, it provides residents ample privacy, further amplified by the surrounding trees, which create a natural barrier from prying eyes.
From MarketWatch
The analysts note that helium supply has been growing faster than demand in recent years and Russia has increased helium production because it has ample reserves.
And California’s major reservoirs, boosted by ample runoff from the last three years, are at 122% of average.
From Los Angeles Times
The book has ample scene-setting and multiple secondary plots, the biggest following the fortunes of Gita and her kind but overworked husband, Sachin, in the Michigan suburbs.
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.
