Meaning & use
lot in life
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
The position, circumstances or fate that someone has in life, especially one they cannot easily change.
Grammar: Usually singular with a possessive: his lot in life.
Patterns
- accept your lot in life
- be unhappy with your lot in life
He refused to accept his lot in life and went back to school.
She seemed happy with her lot in life despite having little money.
Complaining about your lot in life will not change it.
Common combinations
- accept your lot in life
- Some people simply accept their lot in life.
- improve your lot in life
- Education helped her improve her lot in life.
- content with your lot in life
- He was content with his lot in life as a farmer.
- unhappy with your lot in life
- She grew unhappy with her lot in life.
- change your lot in life
- He worked hard to change his lot in life.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fate
- Fate suggests events decided in advance, while lot in life describes someone's current circumstances.
- destiny
- Destiny sounds grander and stresses a future path, whereas lot in life is more modest and ordinary.
- circumstances
- Circumstances is neutral and wide, while lot in life suggests one's overall position.
- situation
- Situation is a plain word for any state of affairs, with no sense of fate.
Word family
Commonly confused: lot in life or a lot of?
lot in life vs a lot of
A lot of means many; lot in life uses lot to mean fate, so the two are unrelated.
Practice
After years of struggle, she decided to ___ her lot in life by starting her own business.
Choose one answer.
You improve your lot in life to make your circumstances better. Borrow and spell do not collocate with lot in life; ignore is possible but does not suit the idea of taking action.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lot in life”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.