a lot

[uh lot]

noun

1. lot.

adverb

1. lot.

Spelling Note

As a noun and adverb, a lot is frequently misspelled as alot.

Word History and Origins

Origin of a lot¹

First recorded in 1820–30

Idioms and Phrases

Very many, a large number; also, very much. For example, A lot of people think the economy is declining, or Sad movies always made her cry a lot. It is sometimes put as a whole lot for greater emphasis, as in I learned a whole lot in his class. It may also emphasize a comparative indication of amount, as in We need a whole lot more pizza to feed everyone, or Mary had a lot less nerve than I expected. [Colloquial; early 1800s]

Example Sentences

In among the criminal antics and police work is a lot of talk about life and death and God, guilt and forgiveness.

From Los Angeles Times

He said he was "very grateful" to his sisters and the rest of his family for their support, adding: "They helped me out a lot, definitely, throughout my whole education journey."

From BBC

"I like to get to know people as people rather than footballers, because I know the footballer that we signed, and we had a lot in common, it was surreal," Beard told BBC Sport.

From BBC

I think there are a lot of real similarities to us.

From Los Angeles Times

“But, we calmed it down. We got it together. We fixed a lot of things that had to be fixed.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• entirely 
• substantially 
• totally 
• wholly