sample
a small part of anything or one of a number, intended to show the quality, style, or nature of the whole; specimen.
Statistics. a subset of a population: to study a sample of the total population.
a sound of short duration, as a musical tone or a drumbeat, digitally stored in a synthesizer for playback.
serving as a specimen: a sample piece of cloth.
to take a sample or samples of; test or judge by a sample.
Origin of sample
1synonym study For sample
Other words from sample
- in·ter·sam·ple, noun, adjective, verb (used with object), in·ter·sam·pled, in·ter·sam·pling.
- mis·sam·ple, verb, mis·sam·pled, mis·sam·pling.
- re·sam·ple, verb (used with object), re·sam·pled, re·sam·pling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sample in a sentence
A gifted marketer, he sent samples of the hat to merchandisers all over the West, asking for a minimum order of a dozen.
Years later, in 2005, scientists took advantage of a more open government to draw blood samples from 93 residents of Liqian.
The on-stage musicians perform Basetrack Live with both instruments and samples, cueing up videos and sounds in real time.
War Is About More Than Heroes, Martyrs, and Patriots | Nathan Bradley Bethea | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe told CIR that she did not ask for samples of screws or talk about implants.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’ | The Center for Investigative Reporting | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn addition, another set of samples was collected in patients who were convalescing from the often-fatal disease.
Did One Liberian Prostitute Give Ebola to Eight Soldiers? | Kent Sepkowitz | October 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Individual samples may be slightly alkaline, especially after a full meal.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddBone-ash varies considerably in price, but of late samples containing 70 per cent of phosphates have sold as low as £4: 10s.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry | Thomas AndersonBud started out next day with three different samples for the assayer, and an air castle or two to keep him company.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerNow it seems Bell and Company are going direct to the public by means of vest-pocket samples and letters.
The proprietary Chologen is interesting some of our readers and several have sent us samples and literature.
British Dictionary definitions for sample
/ (ˈsɑːmpəl) /
a small part of anything, intended as representative of the whole; specimen
(as modifier): a sample bottle
Also called: sampling statistics
a set of individuals or items selected from a population for analysis to yield estimates of, or to test hypotheses about, parameters of the whole population. A biased sample is one in which the items selected share some property which influences their distribution, while a random sample is devised to avoid any such interference so that its distribution is affected only by, and so can be held to represent, that of the whole population: See also matched sample
(as modifier): sample distribution
(tr) to take a sample or samples of
music
to take a short extract from (one record) and mix it into a different backing track
to record (a sound) and feed it into a computerized synthesizer so that it can be reproduced at any pitch
Origin of sample
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for sample
In statistics, a group drawn from a larger population and used to estimate the characteristics of the whole population.
Notes for sample
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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