Sample Meaning
/ˈsɑːm.pəl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen.
nounA subset or portion of a population that is systematically selected for measurement, observation, or questioning, with the objective of generating statistical information that accurately reflects the characteristics of the entire population.
Sentence Examples
The doctor analyzed the blood sample for anemia.
We would now like to have some sample flashlights.
The interviews were given to a random sample of students.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The store gave away a free ____ of the new cheese for customers to taste.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The scientist collected a ____ of the water to test for contamination in the laboratory.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English saumple, sample, from Old French essample (“example”), from Latin exemplum. Doublet of example and exemplum.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He looked down into Glen Doone first, and sniffed as if he were smelling it, like a sample of goods from a wholesale house; and then he looked at the hills over yonder, and then he stared at me."
— 1869, Richard Doddridge Blackmore, “Quo Warranto?”, in Lorna Doone, page 99:
"Then one day in May 2012, he picked up a free sample of a Vietnamese-language magazine based in New Jersey. In it, he saw an article about a career Navy officer named Kimberly Mitchell and her search into her past."
— 2014 May 7, Anh Do, “War orphan named 'Precious Pearl' reunites with South Vietnamese soldier who rescued her in '72”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:
"It is interesting to find that, with the exception of a few imperfectly-observed South Sea Islanders, and whose actual numbers, if the measurements are correct, are very few, the English professional classes head the long list [in average height], and that the Anglo-Saxon race takes the chief place in it among the civilised communities, although it is possible it might stand second to the Scandinavian countries if a fair sample of their population were obtained."
— 1883, Sir Francis Galton et al., “Final Report of the Anthropometric Committee”, in Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, page 269:
"It's a pretty grey outlook for England if these are a sample of the mothers of the coming generation."
— 1927, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados Mysteries:
"Thus he concludes, and euery hardie knight / His ſample follow’d, and his brethren twaine, / The other Princes put on harneſſe light, / As footmen vſe."
— 1600, Torquato Tasso, translated by Edward Fairfax, Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem, London: Ar. Hatfield, translation of La Gerusalemme liberata (in Italian), book XI, page 200:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The store gave away a free ____ of the new cheese for customers to taste.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The scientist collected a ____ of the water to test for contamination in the laboratory.