Meaning & use
sample
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small amount of something that shows what the whole thing is like, often given out free for trying.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a sample of the fabric.
Patterns
- a sample of something
- a free sample
The shop gave me a free sample of the new shampoo.
She asked for a fabric sample before ordering the curtains.
A sample of the cheese was set out on a plate.
nouncountabletechnical
A group of people or items taken from a larger group and studied to learn about the whole.
Grammar: Used in research and statistics: a sample of 500 voters.
Patterns
- a sample of something
- a sample of N people
The survey used a sample of 1,000 households.
A random sample was drawn from the population.
The sample was too small to prove anything.
nouncountablemedical
A small piece of material taken for testing, such as blood or soil.
Grammar: Used in medicine and science.
Patterns
- a sample of something
The nurse took a blood sample.
Scientists collected soil samples near the river.
verbtransitive
To try a small amount of something to judge its quality, or to experience a bit of it.
Grammar: Takes an object: sample the soup.
Patterns
- sample something
Guests sampled the cakes before choosing one.
On holiday we sampled the local dishes.
verbtransitivemusic
To take a short part of an existing recording and reuse it in new music.
Grammar: Takes an object, such as a song or a drum beat.
Patterns
- sample something from something
The producer sampled a drum break from an old record.
She sampled a few seconds of birdsong for her track.
Word forms
| plural | samples |
|---|---|
| third person singular | samples |
| past tense | sampled |
| -ing form | sampling |
Common combinations
- free sample
- Each customer got a free sample.
- random sample
- They chose a random sample of patients.
- blood sample
- The lab tested the blood sample.
- representative sample
- The poll needs a representative sample.
- take a sample
- Please take a sample from each batch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- specimen
- A specimen is an example used for scientific study, and sounds more technical than sample.
- taste
- A taste is a small bit of food or drink, while sample can be any product.
- example
- An example illustrates a type, while a sample is an actual piece of the whole.
- try
- Try as a verb is more casual than sample, which suggests tasting only a little.
Opposites
Word family
- sampler noun
- a selection of items to try, or a device that records sounds
- sampling noun
- the process of selecting samples
- resample verb
- to take a new sample
- subsample noun
- a smaller sample taken from a sample
Commonly confused: sample or example?
sample vs example
An example illustrates an idea, whereas a sample is a real piece taken from the whole.
Practice
The researchers surveyed a ___ of 300 students to represent the whole school.
Choose one answer.
A sample is a subset used to learn about a larger group. Specimen, taste and portion do not describe a research group.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sample”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.