Lot

How to spell lot

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce lot

What does lot mean?

1. nounA large number or quantity of something.
2. nounAn item or set of items offered for sale together at an auction.
3. nounA plot of land, especially one set aside for building or parking.

Lot in a sentence

• There is a lot of paperwork to finish before the deadline.

• The antique clock was sold as lot number forty.

• They bought a vacant lot on the edge of town to build their house.

• She spent a lot of money on the kitchen renovation.

• The bidder won the entire lot of vintage books.

• He parked the truck at the far end of the gravel lot.

Where does lot come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word comes from the Old English hlot, which meant a single object, such as a chip of wood or a pebble, that was thrown or drawn to make a decision by chance. From this came the literal practice of 'casting lots' to divide property or settle a dispute fairly, and the word soon stood for the share or portion that fell to a particular person. From the idea of an allotted portion the meaning broadened to a parcel of goods, then to a plot of allotted land, and eventually to the casual modern sense of 'a great quantity'. The same root survives in 'allot' and 'allotment', where the notion of a measured portion is still clear. Because it is a short, fully native Germanic word with a simple spelling, lot kept its form almost unchanged for over a thousand years.

How the word is built

• lot (single native root; from Old English hlot 'a portion or share decided by casting an object')