lot
11 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
lots
plural
lots
Britannica Dictionary definition of LOT
1
[count]
a
chiefly US
:
a small piece of land that is or could be used for building something or for some other purpose
—
see also parking lot
-
He bought the vacant/empty lot across the street.
-
They own the house on the corner lot.
-
a building lot
b
:
the buildings and land that are owned by a company that makes movies and television programs
-
We took a tour of the Universal lot.
2
[count]
:
a small object used to choose the person who will do or receive something
◊ When someone is chosen by lot or when people draw lots or (less commonly) cast lots to choose someone, each person in a group takes a small object or a piece of paper from a container. One of the objects or pieces of paper is different from the others, and the person who takes the different one is chosen.
-
The winner was chosen by lot.
-
We drew lots to determine the winner.
3
[singular]
:
a person's situation in life especially as decided by chance
-
The organization has done much to improve the lot of underprivileged youth.
-
Unhappy with her lot in life, she moved to the city to start over.
4
informal
a
[count]
chiefly British
:
all the members of a group of people
— usually singular
-
Do you know the lot [=bunch, crowd] that hang around the arcade?
-
That lot will never amount to anything! They're a thoroughly bad lot.
-
Pipe down, the (whole) lot of you. = Pipe down, you lot.
◊ In British English, a person who is not liked is sometimes described as a bad lot.
-
He may be a bit wild, but he's not a bad lot once you get to know him.
b
the lot
:
all the things of a group
-
They sell tuxedos, business suits, casual wear…the lot.
-
This one's the best of the lot.
5
[count]
:
one or more things being sold as one item at an auction
—
see also job lot
-
Lot 45 is a dining room set.
a lot
1
also (informal)
lots
:
a large amount
-
She has done a lot to help other people.
-
I'd give a lot to be able to write like that!
-
I'm not asking for a lot. [=much]
-
They must have paid a lot for that car.
-
We did quite a lot this morning.
-
We still have a lot to do. = We still have lots (and lots) to do.
2
:
very often
-
Do they hike a lot?
-
I've been seeing her a lot recently.
3
— used to say that you feel a particular emotion very strongly
-
“Did you like the movie?” “Yes, I liked it a lot.” [=very much]
-
I miss her a lot since she went away.
4
also (informal)
lots
:
to a large degree or extent
:
much
-
This is a lot nicer. [=this is much nicer]
-
There's a lot more to it than I realized at first. [=it's more complicated than it looks]
-
I'm feeling lots better.
-
Thanks a lot. [=very much]
a lot of
also (informal) lots of
:
a large number or amount of (things, people, etc.)
-
A lot of people feel that way.
-
There was a lot of space. = There was lots of space.
-
We had lots of fun.
-
You can enjoy yourself without spending a lot of money.
-
I don't need a lot of help; I just need a little.
-
We don't have an awful lot of money/time. [=we don't have much money/time]
-
(informal) I think their ideas are a lot of garbage/nonsense. [=I think their ideas are very foolish]
-
(informal) It doesn't make a whole lot of [=very much] difference.
-
Not a lot of people [=not many people] know that.
-
“I've brought an umbrella.” “A (fat) lot of good that will do [=that will not do any good] now that it's stopped raining!”
leave a lot to be desired
throw in your lot with
or cast your lot with
:
to join or become associated with a person, group, or thing that you hope will win or succeed
-
During the American Civil War, my great-grandfather threw in his lot with the Confederacy/Union.
