Lot

¹

[ lot ]

noun

1. (in the Bible) the nephew of Abraham, whose wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back during their flight from Sodom.

Lot

²

[ lawt ]

noun

1. a river in S France, flowing W to the Garonne. 300 miles (480 km) long.
2. a department in S France. 2,018 sq. mi. (5,225 sq. km). : Cahors.

lot

³

[ lot ]

noun

1. one of a set of objects, such as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.
2. the casting or drawing of such objects as a method of deciding something:

   They would have to choose a winner by lot.

3. the decision or choice made by drawing or throwing a set of objects such as straws or pebbles.
4. allotted share or portion:

   With her lot of the inheritance, she built a business.

   Synonyms: quota, part

5. the portion in life assigned by fate or Providence; one's fate, fortune, or destiny:

   Her lot had not been a happy one.

6. a distinct portion or piece of land:

   a building lot.

7. a piece of land forming a part of a district, city, or other community.

   Synonyms: parcel, plot

8. South Midland and Southern U.S. a farmyard or barnyard.
9. a piece of land having the use specified by the attributive noun or adjective:

   a parking lot; a used-car lot.

10. Movies. a motion-picture studio and its surrounding property.
11. a distinct portion or parcel of anything, as of merchandise:

    The furniture was to be auctioned off in 20 lots.

12. a number of things or persons collectively:

    There's one more, and that's the lot.

    Synonyms: gang, crowd, group

13. kind of person; sort:

    He's a bad lot.

14. Often lots. a great many or a great deal:

    a lot of books;

    lots of money.

15. Chiefly British. a tax or duty.

verb (used with object)

, lot·ted, lot·ting.

1. to divide or distribute by lot (sometimes followed by out ):

   to lot furniture for sale; to lot out apples by the basketful.

2. to assign to a person as their lot; allot.
3. to divide into lots, as land.
4. Obsolete. to cast or draw lots for.

verb (used without object)

, lot·ted, lot·ting.

1. to draw lots.

adverb

1. Often lots. a great deal; greatly:

   Thanks a lot for the ride.

   I care lots about my family.

lot.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. (in prescriptions) a lotion.

Lot

¹

/ lɒt /

noun

1. a department of S central France, in Midi-Pyrénées region. Capital: Cahors. Pop: 164 413 (2003 est). Area: 5226 sq km (2038 sq miles)
2. a river in S France, rising in the Cévennes and flowing west into the Garonne River. Length: about 483 km (300 miles)

lot

²

/ lɒt /

pronoun

1. functioning as singular or pluralpreceded bya a great number or quantity

   a lot of trouble

   a lot to do

   a lot of people

noun

1. a collection of objects, items, or people

   a nice lot of youngsters

2. portion in life; destiny; fortune

   it falls to my lot to be poor

3. any object, such as a straw or slip of paper, drawn from others at random to make a selection or choice (esp in the phrase draw or cast lots )
4. the use of lots in making a selection or choice (esp in the phrase by lot )
5. an assigned or apportioned share
6. an item or set of items for sale in an auction
7. an area of land

   a parking lot

8. a piece of land with fixed boundaries
9. a film studio and the site on which it is located
10. a bad lot
    an unpleasant or disreputable person
11. cast in one's lot with or throw in one's lot with
    to join with voluntarily and share the fortunes of
12. the lot
    the entire amount or number

adverb

1. to a considerable extent, degree, or amount; very much

   to delay a lot

2. a great deal of the time or often

   to sing madrigals a lot

verb

1. to draw lots for (something)
2. tr to divide (land, etc) into lots
3. tr another word for allot

Lot

³

/ lɒt /

noun

1. Old Testament Abraham's nephew: he escaped the destruction of Sodom, but his wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back as they fled (Genesis 19)

Other Words From

• lotter noun
• inter·lot verb (used with object) interlotted interlotting
• sublot noun
• un·lotted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Lot¹

First recorded before 950; 1805–15 lot fordef 14; Middle English; Old English hlot “portion, choice, decision”; cognate with Dutch lot, Old Norse hlutr; akin to Old English hlīet, German Los, Old Norse hlaut, Gothic hlauts “lot”

Origin of Lot²

From the Latin word lōtiō

Word History and Origins

Origin of Lot¹

Old English hlot; related to Old High German lug portion of land, Old Norse hlutr lot, share

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cast (in) one's lot with, to ally oneself with; share the life and fortunes of:

   She had cast her lot with the bohemian crowd.

2. draw / cast lots, to settle a question by the use of lots:

   They drew lots to see who would go first.

More idioms and phrases containing Lot

see a lot ; carry (a lot of) weight ; cast one's lot with ; fat chance (lot) ; have (a lot) going for one ; have a lot on one's plate ; leave a lot to be desired ; quite a bit (lot) ; think a lot of .

Example Sentences

“We’re seeing a lot of issues at the moment with car parks, where their passive fire protection system is peeling off,” he says, referring to the fire-resistant paint sometimes applied to concrete structures.

From BBC

"There are times where I spend a lot of time thinking about a song and what I want to say. This was one of those times where it just blew out."

From BBC

“I said, ‘A lot of people would say there’s a world of difference.

From Los Angeles Times

"The data here is really quite striking, and it raises a lot of questions."

From Science Daily

"There are lots of compelling questions as we think about sustainability of the food system and health care."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• abundance
• bunch
• collection
• crowd
• group
• load
• much
• number
• plenty
• set