lot
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈlät 
plural lots
1
: an object used as a counter in determining a question by chance see also throw in one's lot with
2
a
: the use of lots as a means of deciding something
One was chosen by lot to represent the group.
b
: the resulting choice
3
a
: something that comes to one upon whom a lot has fallen : share
The will provided for equal lots for all the children.
b
: one's way of life or worldly fate : fortune
the lot of man, to suffer and to die—
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope4
a
: a portion of land
b
: a measured parcel of land having fixed boundaries and designated on a plot or survey
built his home on a half-acre lot
c
: a motion-picture studio and its adjoining property
d
: an establishment for the storage or sale of motor vehicles
a used car lot
5
a
: a number of units of an article, a single article, or a parcel of articles offered as one item (as in an auction sale)
Lot 45 is a dining room set.
b
: all the members of a present group, kind, or quantity —usually used with the
sampled the whole lot of desserts
6
a
: a number of associated persons : set
fell in with a rough lot
b
: kind, sort
The recruits were a sorry lot.
7
: a considerable quantity or extent
a lot of money
lots of friends
lot
2 of 3verb
lotted; lotting
transitive verb
1
: allot, apportion
2
: to form or divide into lots
Lot
3 of 3noun (2)
ˈlät
: a nephew of Abraham who according to the account in Genesis escaped from the doomed city of Sodom with his wife who turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- parcel
- plat
- plot
- property
- tract
Verb
- allocate
- allot
- allow
- apportion
- assign
- distribute
- ration
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun (1) He bought the vacant lot across the street. They own the house on the corner lot. We took a tour of the Universal lot. 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. Verb everyone is lotted opportunities in life, and it's their responsibility to take them See More
Recent Examples on the WebKen Tran, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2023 That stability has meant a lot to Adrianna, who’s going on month six in her new place. —Anchorage Daily News, 16 Feb. 2023 But the staff at the Kentucky Exposition Center thinks about the dirt, a lot. —Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 16 Feb. 2023 Keep in mind that while well worth the investment based on performance, this machine is a lot heavier and bulkier than other options. —Adria Greenhauff, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Feb. 2023 Helping people solve their travel disasters is, objectively, a lot less fun than traveling. —Sarah Bahr, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023 Warzynski took him to a statement from a man who described Miller back then as cycling a lot in the Phoenix summer and not always having a chance to shower, as well as not having any air conditioning in his unit. —Lane Sainty, The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2023 While highly anticipated, what was made public probably didn’t make anyone happy, simply because there wasn’t a lot there. —James Pindell, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2023 Double-wide sleeping pads are 40 inches and work a lot better than piecing two sleeping pads together. —Leslie Hsu Oh, Travel + Leisure, 16 Feb. 2023 See More
Noun
Despite the polling numbers, a lot can change in the year leading up to the primary, especially for a candidate like Haley in New Hampshire, who has an opportunity to net a large portion of anti-Trump-minded voters. —Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2023 That stability has meant a lot to Adrianna, who’s going on month six in her new place. —Anchorage Daily News, 16 Feb. 2023 But the staff at the Kentucky Exposition Center thinks about the dirt, a lot. —Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 16 Feb. 2023 Keep in mind that while well worth the investment based on performance, this machine is a lot heavier and bulkier than other options. —Adria Greenhauff, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Feb. 2023 Helping people solve their travel disasters is, objectively, a lot less fun than traveling. —Sarah Bahr, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2023 Warzynski took him to a statement from a man who described Miller back then as cycling a lot in the Phoenix summer and not always having a chance to shower, as well as not having any air conditioning in his unit. —Lane Sainty, The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2023 While highly anticipated, what was made public probably didn’t make anyone happy, simply because there wasn’t a lot there. —James Pindell, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2023 Double-wide sleeping pads are 40 inches and work a lot better than piecing two sleeping pads together. —Leslie Hsu Oh, Travel + Leisure, 16 Feb. 2023 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English lot, lott "object used to decide a matter by chance, decision by the use of such objects, what one receives through such a decision, destiny, share," going back to Old English hlot, going back to Germanic *hluta- (whence also Old Frisian hlot, lot "lot," Old High German hluz, Old Norse hlutr), noun derivative from a verb *hleutan- "to cast lots" (whence Old English hlēotan "to cast lots, obtain, gain as one's lot," Old Saxon hliotan "to obtain," Old High German liozan "to cast lots," Old Norse hjlóta "to get by lot, obtain, undergo"), of uncertain origin
Note: An o-grade ablaut derivative is evident in Old English hlȳt, hlīet "lot, share," Old Saxon hlōt, Old High German hlōz, Old Norse hlautr (conflated with a different word meaning "blood sacrifice"), Gothic hlauts. The Germanic verb has been compared with Lithuanian kliū́ti "to get caught on, bump into, hinder," kliudýti "to bump into, meet, hinder," Old Church Slavic ključiti sę "to happen, come to pass," but the proposed semantic connection is tenuous.
Verb
Middle English lotten, derivative of lot lot entry 1
Noun (2)
Hebrew Lōṭ
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (2)
circa 1534, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing lot
Kids Definition
lot
nounˈlät
1
: an object used as a counter in determining a question by chance
2
a
: the use of lots as a means of deciding something
choose by lot
b
: the choice resulting from deciding by lot
3
a
: something that comes to one by or as if by lot
b
: one's course in life especially as decided by chance
4
a
: a piece or plot of land
owns the corner lot
a building lot
b
: a motion-picture studio and its surrounding property
5
: a number of articles offered (as at an auction) for sale as one item
6
: a number of associated persons : set
the lot that hangs around the arcade
7
: a large amount, quantity, or number
a lot of space
a lot of books
lots of food
had been there lots of times
Legal Definition
lot
noun1
: a portion of land
specifically : a measured parcel of contiguous land having fixed boundaries and recorded (as on a plat) with the appropriate authority or office (as a registry of deeds)
2
: a single article, a number of units of an article, or a parcel of articles offered as one item (as in an auction sale)
specifically : a parcel or single article under the Uniform Commercial Code which is the subject matter of a separate sale, lease, or delivery whether or not it is sufficient to perform the contract see also odd lot, round lot
Geographical Definition
Lot
geographical name
ˈlät
ˈlȯt
river 300 miles (483 kilometers) long in southern France flowing west into the Garonne River
lot 1 of 2
noun
1
as in property
a small piece of land that is developed or available for development the softball team often plays in the vacant lot down at the end of the street Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- property
- plot
- parcel
- tract
- development
- real estate
- plat
- lease
- patch
- frontage
2
as in ton
a considerable amount you'll need to do a lot of studying for the test you sure bought a lot of clothing Synonyms & Similar Words
- ton
- plenty
- loads
- much
- hundred
- dozen
- slew
- bunch
- chunk
- wealth
- pile
- quantity
- deal
- abundance
- raft
- bundle
- boatload
- myriad
- stack
- oodles
- scads
- gobs
- truckload
- heap
- thousands
- volume
- basketful
- yard
- plentitude
- bucket
- good deal
- pack
- reams
- profusion
- fistful
- carload
- mess
- plenitude
- plateful
- multiplicity
- mass
- shipload
- peck
- mountain
- wad
- quite a bit
- pot
- bushel
- store
- sheaf
- all kinds (of)
- spate
- barrel
- potful
- passel
- lashings
- million
- score
- sight
- flood
- multitude
- lashins
- plethora
- surplus
- excess
- overabundance
- rash
- overmuch
- surfeit
- crowd
- plague
- sea
- superabundance
- host
- bevy
- overkill
- oversupply
- embarrassment
- zillion
- overage
- swarm
- deluge
- cram
- bonanza
- horde
- epidemic
- overflow
- superfluity
- army
- flock
- throng
- redundancy
- legion
- trillion
- gazillion
- press
- crush
- drove
- mob
- herd
- jillion
- kazillion
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- bit
- handful
- taste
- spot
- hint
- suspicion
- strain
- tad
- sprinkling
- shade
- touch
- little
- ounce
- grain
- mouthful
- pinch
- glimmer
- modicum
- peanuts
- shadow
- trace
- sprinkle
- ray
- mite
- particle
- scrap
- speck
- fragment
- streak
- molecule
- pittance
- whit
- dab
- dram
- ace
- scruple
- iota
- lick
- shred
- atom
- smidgen
- smattering
- jot
- section
- smidge
- nip
- smidgeon
- mote
- dot
- portion
- scintilla
- piece
- granule
- tittle
- lack
- smidgin
- drop
- crumb
- dash
- shortage
- shot
- absence
- paucity
- scarcity
- morsel
- fleck
- want
- smatter
- driblet
- dearth
- flyspeck
- poverty
- deficiency
- nubbin
- famine
- deficit
- insufficiency
- inadequacy
- scarceness
- undersupply
- meagerness
- scantiness
- skimpiness
- scantness
3
as in field
a small area of usually open land there were still plenty of Christmas trees available for sale in the lot Synonyms & Similar Words
- field
- clearing
- ground
- parcel
- tract
- plot
- meadow
- plat
- green
- grass
- lawn
- common(s)
- pasture
- grassland
- lea
- croft
- glade
- heath
- moor
- greensward
- pastureland
- heathland
- ley
4
as in bunch
a number of things considered as a unit the auctioneer next introduced a lot containing several pieces of fine china Synonyms & Similar Words
- bunch
- batch
- cluster
- collection
- group
- array
- grouping
- variety
- assemblage
- constellation
- set
- package
- assortment
- series
- mixture
- clump
- battery
- bank
- suite
- muster
- band
- block
- accumulation
- clutch
- the whole kit and caboodle
- parcel
- clot
- jumble
- passel
- conglomeration
- huddle
- aggregate
- aggregation
- hodgepodge
- knot
- agglomeration
- sundries
- miscellany
- suit
- cycle
- run
- odds and ends
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unit
- item
- entity
- single
5
as in destiny
a state or end that seemingly has been decided beforehand will it always be my lot to be picked last in gym class? Synonyms & Similar Words
- destiny
- fate
- portion
- chance
- fortune
- circumstance
- luck
- doom
- result
- accident
- resultant
- development
- hazard
- kismet
- issue
- outcome
- effect
- hap
- upshot
- happenstance
- fruit
- consequence
- happenchance
- sequence
- predestination
- aftermath
- sequel
- casualty
- outgrowth
- conclusion
- aftereffect
6
as in crowd
a group of people sharing a common interest and relating together socially you should stop hanging out with that lot, or you'll end up in trouble Synonyms & Similar Words
- bunch
- crowd
- community
- pack
- network
- circle
- gang
- clique
- clan
- body
- coven
- fold
- organization
- club
- set
- coterie
- ring
- commune
- society
- tribe
- galère
- college
- guild
- league
- klatsch
- closed shop
- fraternity
- faction
- camp
- side
- klatch
- elite
- squad
- mess
- brotherhood
- coalition
- charmed circle
- gild
- sect
- sorority
- union
- in-group
- federation
- fellowship
- bloc
- sisterhood
- council
- alliance
- order
- congress
- confederation
- sodality
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- loner
- individualist
7
as in group
a usually small number of persons considered as a unit the school has a very strong science department, because there's not one bad teacher in the lot Synonyms & Similar Words
- bunch
- group
- grouping
- batch
- band
- cluster
- team
- crop
- array
- crew
- collective
- battery
- party
- passel
- body
- parcel
- platoon
- clutch
- gathering
- circle
- constellation
- organization
- consort
- school
- boodle
- huddle
- the whole kit and caboodle
- squadron
- battalion
- round
- knot
- gang
- brigade
- congregation
- assembly
- posse
- muster
- set
- clique
- faction
- coterie
- bevy
- task force
- clan
- ring
- guild
- sect
- phalanx
- gild
- federation
- union
- coalition
- league
- fellowship
- confederacy
- order
- bloc
- outfit
- alliance
- brood
- confederation
- covey
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- individual
- single
lot
2 of 2verb
as in to allot
to give as a share or portion everyone is lotted opportunities in life, and it's their responsibility to take them Synonyms & Similar Words
- allot
- allocate
- assign
- distribute
- ration
- give
- allow
- apportion
- portion
- part
- divide
- deal
- measure
- split
- hand out
- dole out
- dispense
- grant
- meter
- award
- contribute
- admeasure
- administer
- prorate
- reserve
- donate
- earmark
- parcel (out)
- accord
- share (out)
- chip in
- mete (out)
- redistribute
- reallocate
- reassign
- reapportion
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- deny
- retain
- deprive (of)
- keep
- begrudge
- withhold
- stint
- appropriate
- confiscate
- arrogate
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of lot are destiny, doom, fate, and portion. While all these words mean "a predetermined state or end," lot and portion imply a distribution by fate or destiny, lot suggesting blind chance.
it was her lot to die childless
In some situations, the words destiny and lot are roughly equivalent. However, destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end.
the country's destiny to be a model of liberty to the world
Although the words doom and lot have much in common, doom distinctly implies a grim or calamitous fate.
if the rebellion fails, his doom is certain
The synonyms fate and lot are sometimes interchangeable, but fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome.
the fate of the submarine is unknown
While the synonyms portion and lot are close in meaning, portion implies the apportioning of good and evil.
remorse was his daily portion
Phrases Containing lot
- fractionizations
- fractionize
- fractionized
- fractionizes
- fractionizing
- fractionlets
- fractions
- fractious
- fractiouser
- fractiousest
- fractiouslier
- fractiousliest
- fractiously
- fractiousness
- fractiousnesses
- fractiousser
- fractioussest
- fracto-
- fractograph
- countering
- counterinstance
- counterinstances
- counterinstitution
- counterinstitutions
- counterinsurgencies