LOTS | English Meaning, Definition, and Pronunciation

divide (items) into lots for sale at an auction

divide items into lots for auction

• the contents have already been lotted up, and the auction takes place on Monday

Old English hlot (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lot, German Los. The original meanings were lot (sense 3 of the noun) and (by extension) the sense ‘a portion assigned to someone’; the latter gave rise to the other noun senses. The pronoun and adverb uses date from the early 19th century

a large number or amount; a great deal

large number or amount

• there are a lot of actors in the cast
• they took a lot of abuse
• a lot can happen in eight months
• we had lots of fun
• Debbie nurses lots of animals back to health

a great deal; much

great deal

• he played tennis a lot last year
• thanks a lot
• my life is lots better now
• I feel a whole lot better

a particular group or set of people or things

group of people or things

• it's just one lot of rich people stealing from another
• he will need a second lot of tills to handle the second currency

an item or set of items for sale at an auction

item or items for auction

• nineteen lots failed to sell

the making of a decision by random selection, especially by a method involving the choice of one from a number of pieces of folded paper, one of which has a concealed mark

making of decision by random selection

• officers were elected rather than selected by lot

a person's luck, situation, or destiny in life

person's luck or situation

• schemes to improve the lot of the disadvantaged

a plot of land assigned for sale or for a particular use

plot of land

• a vacant lot
• a fenced-off back lot