sample

[ sam-puhl, sahm- ]

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.

adjective

1. serving as a specimen:

   a sample piece of cloth.

verb (used with object)

, sam·pled, sam·pling.

1. to take a sample or samples of; test or judge by a sample.

sample

/ ˈsɑːmpəl /

noun

1. 1. a small part of anything, intended as representative of the whole; specimen
   2. ( as modifier )

      a sample bottle

2. Also calledsampling 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

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

1. In statistics , a group drawn from a larger population and used to estimate the characteristics of the whole population.

Notes

Opinion polls use small groups of people, often selected at random, as a sample of the opinions of the general public.

Other Words From

• inter·sample noun adjective verb (used with object) intersampled intersampling
• mis·sample verb missampled missampling
• re·sample verb (used with object) resampled resampling

Word History and Origins

Origin of sample¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sample¹

C13: from Old French essample, from Latin exemplum example

Synonym Study

See example.

Example Sentences

It is the computational processing of images that reveals the finest details of a sample placed under all kinds of different light microscopes.

From Science Daily

Led by Dr. Shohei Kuraoka and his team at Southern Kyushu and Okinawa Unit Center of Japan Environment and Children's Study, researchers measured 24 types of phenols in urine samples collected from pregnant women.

From Science Daily

"We were able to screen a worldwide collection of horse DNA samples and study where modern stallions trace their roots to," Cothran said.

From Science Daily

Her initial dialogue sounds selected from prerecorded samples of a human voice — all Nyong’o’s acting, says Sanders, not an audio trick.

From Los Angeles Times

In future work, they also plan to see if their findings can be replicated using an active comparison group and a larger sample.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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