Phrase guide

a lot

adj · adv · pron · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ə ˈlɒt/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ə ˈlɑt/
  • rhymes with -ɒt
  • homophone: allot

1

adj

Meaning 1

Difficult to handle emotionally.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, not-comparable

Examples

  • Yeah, it's a lot.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

too much, busy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: euphemistic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

dramatic, extra.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adv

Meaning 4

Very much; a great deal; to a large extent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, not-comparable

Examples

  • Thanks a lot for listening to me.
  • It's a lot harder than it looks.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: immensely, loads, tons

Antonyms: a bit, above a bit, absolutely, sorely, bone, abundantly, all too, but good, completely, damn, eminently, ever so, exceedingly, excessively, extremely, flipping, freaking, fucking, greatly, highly, in spades, jolly, main, mightily, murrain, passing, positively, pretty, quite, really, right, simply, somewhat, sore, specially, strongly, swith, truly, vastly, very, very much, way, way too, wicked, wickedly

5

adv

Meaning 5

Often; frequently.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, not-comparable

Examples

  • I go swimming a lot.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

pron

Meaning 6

A large amount.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • I have a lot of things to say.
  • A whole lot of water is flowing from under the sink.
  • Jay's seeing a lot of Linda lately.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: a bit

7

pron

Meaning 7

Many things, much.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • A lot depends on whether your parents agree.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adverb

Meaning 8

to a very great degree or extent

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I feel a lot better
  • we enjoyed ourselves very much
  • she was very much interested
  • this would help a great deal

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lots, a good deal, a great deal, much, very much

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

See lot.

Across languages

Translations

298 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: shumë — very much
  • Arabic: كَثِيرًا (kaṯīran) — very much
  • Arabic: قوي — very much
  • Arabic: وايد — very much
  • Armenian: շատ (šat) — very much
  • Belarusian: шмат (šmat) — very much
  • Belarusian: мно́га (mnóha) — very much
  • Catalan: molt — very much
  • Cebuano: kaayu — very much
  • Chickasaw: lawa — very much
  • Chinese Mandarin: 許多 /许多 (xǔduō) — very much
  • Chinese Mandarin: 多 (duō) — very much
  • Czech: velmi mnoho — very much
  • Czech: moc — very much
  • Danish: meget — very much
  • Dutch: veel — very much
  • Esperanto: multe — very much
  • Finnish: paljon — very much
  • Finnish: hyvin paljon — very much
  • French: beaucoup — very much
  • Old French: molt — very much
  • Old French: mult — very much
  • Old French: mout — very much
  • Gallo: brav'ment — very much
  • German: viel — very much
  • Ancient Greek: σφόδρα (sphódra) — very much
  • Haitian Creole: anpil — very much
  • Hebrew: הרבה (harbe) — very much
  • Hindi: बहुत सारा (bahut sārā) — very much
  • Hungarian: nagyon — very much
  • Hungarian: sokkal — very much
  • Hungarian: jóval — very much
  • Hungarian: sokkalta — very much
  • Ingrian: paljo — very much
  • Ingrian: koormittee — very much
  • Ingrian: äijä — very much
  • Italian: molto — very much
  • Japanese: 沢山の (takusan no) — very much
  • Japanese: 多い (ooi) — very much
  • Khmer: ច្រើន (craən) — very much
  • Korean: 많은 (maneun) — very much
  • Central Kurdish: زۆر (zor) — very much
  • Lao: ຫລາຍ (lāi) — very much
  • Latin: multō — very much
  • Latin: multum — very much
  • Latin: tot — very much
  • Macedonian: мно́гу (mnógu) — very much
  • Mauritian Creole: boukou — very much
  • Neapolitan: assaje — very much
  • Norwegian: mange — very much
  • Ojibwe: naaniibowa — very much
  • Persian: زیاد (ziyâd) — very much
  • Persian: خیلی زیاد (xeyli ziyâd) — very much
  • Polish: mnóstwo — very much
  • Polish: wiele — very much
  • Polish: dużo — very much
  • Portuguese: um monte — very much
  • Portuguese: muito — very much
  • Portuguese: muita — very much
  • Russian: мно́го (mnógo) — very much
  • Scottish Gaelic: mòran — very much
  • Shor: кӧп (köp) — very much
  • Slovak: mnoho — very much
  • Spanish: mucho — very much
  • Spanish: un montón — very much
  • Spanish: una barbaridad — very much
  • Spanish: cosa mala — very much
  • Spanish: a jierro — very much
  • Spanish: una pechá — very much
  • Spanish: harto — very much
  • Spanish: hartamente — very much
  • Swahili: mengi — very much
  • Swedish: mycket — very much
  • Swedish: en hel del — very much
  • Thai: มาก (mâak) — very much
  • Southern Thai: จังหู้ — very much
  • Tocharian B: māka — very much
  • Turkish: çok — very much
  • Turkish: bir sürü — very much
  • Turkish: bir ton — very much
  • Ukrainian: бага́то (baháto) — very much
  • Vietnamese: nhiều — very much
  • Vietnamese: lắm — very much
  • Volapük: mödo — very much
  • Welsh: llawer — very much
  • Wolof: lool — very much
  • Arabic: كَثِيرًا (kaṯīran) — often
  • Armenian: հաճախ (hačax) — often
  • Catalan: sovint — often
  • Catalan: freqüentment — often
  • Chinese Mandarin: 常常 (chángcháng) — often
  • Chinese Mandarin: 經常 /经常 (jīngcháng) — often
  • Chinese Mandarin: 時常 /时常 (shícháng) — often
  • Czech: často — often
  • Dutch: vaak — often
  • Dutch: veel — often
  • Esperanto: ofte — often
  • Finnish: usein — often
  • French: souvent — often
  • German: oft — often
  • Hungarian: gyakran — often
  • Hungarian: sokat — often
  • Hungarian: sokszor — often
  • Hungarian: gyakorta — often
  • Italian: spesso — often
  • Japanese: よく (yoku) — often
  • Japanese: 度々 (tabitabi) — often
  • Japanese: しばしば (shiba shiba) — often
  • Korean: 자주 (jaju) — often
  • Latin: saepe — often
  • Macedonian: многупати (mnogupati) — often
  • Macedonian: често (često) — often
  • Neapolitan: assaje — often
  • Norwegian: ofte — often
  • Polish: często — often
  • Portuguese: muito — often
  • Portuguese: bastante — often
  • Russian: ча́сто (částo) — often
  • Swedish: ofta — often
  • Turkish: çok sık — often
  • Turkish: çok — often
  • Albanian: shumë — a large amount
  • Albanian: plot — a large amount
  • Arabic: كَثِير (kaṯīr) — a large amount
  • Arabic: كتير (kitīr) — a large amount
  • Arabic: كثير (katīr, kaṯīr) — a large amount
  • Arabic: كَتير (katīr) — a large amount
  • Iraqi Arabic: هواية (hwāya) — a large amount
  • Arabic: كتير (ktīr) — a large amount
  • Arabic: كتير (ktīr) — a large amount
  • Azerbaijani: çox — a large amount
  • Bashkir: күп (küp) — a large amount
  • Bashkir: байтаҡ (baytaq) — a large amount
  • Belarusian: мно́га (mnóha) — a large amount
  • Belarusian: шмат (šmat) — a large amount
  • Belarusian: бага́та (baháta) — a large amount
  • Bengali: অনেক (onek) — a large amount
  • Bengali: বহু (bohu) — a large amount
  • Bulgarian: мно́го (mnógo) — a large amount
  • Burmese: များ (mya:) — a large amount
  • Carpathian Rusyn: мно́го (mnóho) — a large amount
  • Carpathian Rusyn: ве́лё (véljo) — a large amount
  • Catalan: molt — a large amount
  • Cherokee: ᏥᏈᏍᏗ (tsiquisdi) — a large amount
  • Chickasaw: lawa — a large amount
  • Chickasaw: i̠lawa — a large amount
  • Chinese Cantonese: 好多 (hou2 do1) — a large amount
  • Chinese Cantonese: 大把 (daai6 baa2) — a large amount
  • Chinese Mandarin: 很多 (hěn duō) — a large amount
  • Chinese Mandarin: 多 (duō) — a large amount
  • Czech: spousta — a large amount
  • Czech: fůra — a large amount
  • Danish: meget — a large amount
  • Danish: mange — a large amount
  • Dutch: veel — a large amount
  • Esperanto: multa — a large amount
  • Esperanto: multe da — a large amount
  • Estonian: palju — a large amount
  • Finnish: paljon — a large amount
  • French: beaucoup — a large amount
  • Galician: lote — a large amount
  • Galician: mundo — a large amount
  • Galician: feixe — a large amount
  • Galician: morea — a large amount
  • Galician: ben de — a large amount
  • Georgian: ბევრი (bevri) — a large amount
  • Georgian: დიდძალი (didʒali) — a large amount
  • German: viel — a large amount
  • Greek: (uncountably):πολλά (pollá) — a large amount
  • Greek: (countably):πολύ (polý) — a large amount
  • Ancient Greek: πλῆθος (plêthos) — a large amount
  • Hebrew: הַרבֵּה (harbé) — a large amount
  • Hindi: अधिक (adhik) — a large amount
  • Hindi: बहुत (bahut) — a large amount
  • Hungarian: sok — a large amount
  • Hungarian: egy csomó — a large amount
  • Hungarian: egy rakat — a large amount
  • Hungarian: számos — a large amount
  • Hungarian: rengeteg — a large amount
  • Ingrian: paljo — a large amount
  • Ingrian: koormittee — a large amount
  • Irish: mórán — a large amount
  • Irish: neart — a large amount
  • Irish: a lán — a large amount
  • Italian: molto — a large amount
  • Italian: grande — a large amount
  • Jamaican Creole: a bag a — a large amount
  • Jamaican Creole: a crocus bag a — a large amount
  • Japanese: 沢山 (takusan) — a large amount
  • Japanese: 多くの (ōku no) — a large amount
  • Japanese: 多い (ōi) — a large amount
  • Jingpho: law — a large amount
  • Kazakh: көп (köp) — a large amount
  • Khmer: ច្រើន (craən) — a large amount
  • Korean: 많은 (maneun) — a large amount
  • Korean: 많이 (mani) — a large amount
  • Kyrgyz: көп (köp) — a large amount
  • Lao: ຫຼາຍ (lāi) — a large amount
  • Latin: multus — a large amount
  • Latvian: daudz — a large amount
  • Lithuanian: daug — a large amount
  • Macedonian: многу (mnogu) — a large amount
  • Malay: banyak — a large amount
  • Manx: mooarane — a large amount
  • Mongolian: олон (olon) — a large amount
  • Navajo: díí óolyé dooląął — a large amount
  • Navajo: tʼóó báhádzigo — a large amount
  • Norwegian Bokmål: massevis — a large amount
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: massevis — a large amount
  • Old English: fela — a large amount
  • Persian: مقدار زیاد (meqdâre ziyâd) — a large amount
  • Persian: زیاد (ziyâd) — a large amount
  • Persian: بسیار (besiyâr) — a large amount
  • Plautdietsch: väl — a large amount
  • Polish: wiele — a large amount
  • Polish: dużo — a large amount
  • Portuguese: muito — a large amount
  • Portuguese: bastante — a large amount
  • Punjabi: ਬਥੇਰਾ (batherā) — a large amount
  • Punjabi: ਬਥੇਰੀ (batherī) — a large amount
  • Punjabi: ਬਥੇਰੇ (bathere) — a large amount
  • Punjabi: بَتھیرا (batherā) — a large amount
  • Punjabi: بَتھیرِی (batherī) — a large amount
  • Punjabi: بَتھیرے (bathere) — a large amount
  • Russian: мно́го (mnógo) — a large amount
  • Russian: нема́ло (nemálo) — a large amount
  • Russian: мно́гие (mnógije) — a large amount
  • Sanskrit: बहु (bahu) — a large amount
  • Sanskrit: अधिकम् (adhikam) — a large amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: мно̏гӣ — a large amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: мно̏го — a large amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: mnȍgī — a large amount
  • Serbo-Croatian: mnȍgo — a large amount
  • Sinhalese: බොහෝ (bohō) — a large amount
  • Slovak: veľa — a large amount
  • Slovak: mnoho — a large amount
  • Slovene: veliko — a large amount
  • Slovene: mnogo — a large amount
  • Spanish: un montón — a large amount
  • Spanish: montones — a large amount
  • Spanish: un chingo — a large amount
  • Spanish: un bonche — a large amount
  • Spanish: un raudal — a large amount
  • Spanish: así de — a large amount
  • Spanish: un cerro — a large amount
  • Spanish: un chupo — a large amount
  • Spanish: un culantro — a large amount
  • Spanish: un culo — a large amount
  • Spanish: un huevo — a large amount
  • Spanish: un mundo — a large amount
  • Spanish: una shuntalada — a large amount
  • Swahili: sana — a large amount
  • Swedish: mycket — a large amount
  • Swedish: många — a large amount
  • Swedish: en hel del — a large amount
  • Tajik: бисёр (bisyor) — a large amount
  • Tajik: хеле (xele) — a large amount
  • Tamil: நிறைய (niṟaiya) — a large amount
  • Thai: หลาย (lǎai) — a large amount
  • Turkish: çok — a large amount
  • Turkmen: köp — a large amount
  • Ukrainian: бага́то (baháto) — a large amount
  • Ukrainian: чима́ло (čymálo) — a large amount
  • Urdu: بہت (bahut) — a large amount
  • Uyghur: جىق (jiq) — a large amount
  • Uzbek: koʻp — a large amount
  • Vietnamese: nhiều — a large amount
  • Vietnamese: lắm — a large amount
  • Yiddish: פֿיל (fil) — a large amount
  • Zhuang: haujlai — a large amount
  • Zhuang: lai — a large amount
  • Albanian: shumë — many things
  • Azerbaijani: çox şey — many things
  • Catalan: molt — many things
  • Chickasaw: lawa — many things
  • Czech: hodně — many things
  • Czech: mnoho — many things
  • Dutch: veel — many things
  • Esperanto: multa — many things
  • Esperanto: multe da — many things
  • Finnish: paljon — many things
  • German: vieles — many things
  • Hungarian: sok minden — many things
  • Hungarian: sok — many things
  • Ingrian: paljo — many things
  • Irish: a lán — many things
  • Latin: multi — many things
  • Old English: fela — many things
  • Plautdietsch: väl — many things
  • Polish: wiele — many things
  • Polish: mnóstwo — many things
  • Portuguese: bastante — many things
  • Portuguese: muito — many things
  • Romanian: mult — many things
  • Russian: мно́гое (mnógoje) — many things
  • Spanish: mucho — many things
  • Spanish: un montón — many things
  • Ukrainian: бага́то (baháto) — many things