pronoun1. (functioning as singular or plural; preceded by a) a great number or quantity
a lot to do
a lot of people
a lot of trouble
noun2. a collection of objects, items, or people
a nice lot of youngsters
3. portion in life; destiny; fortune
it falls to my lot to be poor
4. 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)
5. the use of lots in making a selection or choice (esp in the phrase by lot)
6. an assigned or apportioned share
7. an item or set of items for sale in an auction
8. mainly US and Canadian an area of land
a parking lot
9. US and Canadian a piece of land with fixed boundaries
10. mainly US and Canadian a film studio and the site on which it is located
11. a bad lot
12. cast in one's lot with
13. the lot
adverb (preceded by a) informal14. to a considerable extent, degree, or amount; very much
to delay a lot
15. a great deal of the time or often
to sing madrigals a lot
verbWord forms: lots, lotting or lotted16. to draw lots for (something)
17. (transitive) to divide (land, etc) into lots
18. (transitive) another word for allot
Word origin
Old English
hlot; related to Old High German
lug portion of land, Old Norse
hlutr lot, share