Plenty Meaning
/ˈplɛnti/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA more-than-adequate amount; plenitude.
pronMore than enough.
Sentence Examples
You had plenty of time.
I have plenty of money with me.
There's still plenty of scope for improvement.
CEFR Practice Quiz
There was ____ of time to finish the test before the bell rang.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was ____ of food at the reception, and guests were encouraged to help themselves freely.
Word Origin & History
From Anglo-Norman plent(é) + -y, from Middle English plentie, plentee, plente, from Anglo-Norman plenté, from Old French plenté, from Latin plēnitātem, accusative of plēnitās (“fullness”), from plenus (“complete, full”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”), from which English full also comes, via Proto-Germanic. Related to the Latin derivatives replenish, plenary, complete, deplete, replete.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"During this season of distress, the discouragements to marriage, and the difficulty of rearing a family are so great that population is at a stand. In the mean time the cheapness of labour, the plenty of labourers, and the necessity of an increased industry amongst them, encourage cultivators to employ more labour upon their land, to turn up fresh soil, and to manure and improve more completely what is already in tillage"
— 1798, Thomas Malthus, An Essay on the Principle of Population:
"For the likes of her, the down-at-heels support of Hoboken pier was plenty good enough."
— 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 1:
"Seeing clichés mimicked this skillfully is plenty hilarious."
— 2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2017:
"if reasons were as plenty as blackberries"
— 1597, Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, Act I, Scene IV:
"There are, among the Irish, men of as much worth and honour as any among the English: nay, to speak the truth, generosity of spirit is rather more common among them. I have known some examples there, too, of good husbands; and I believe these are not very plenty in England."
— 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
There was ____ of time to finish the test before the bell rang.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
There was ____ of food at the reception, and guests were encouraged to help themselves freely.