lot

A lot is a large amount or a large number — the everyday word you reach for when much and many sound stiff. A lot of rain, a lot of people waiting outside the shop, lots to do before Friday.

At an auction, a lot is one item or one bundle of items sold together, each with a number the auctioneer calls out: lot 42, a box of mixed china. In American English a lot is also a piece of land — a parking lot, an empty lot behind the shops. Your lot is the life you were handed, which is why people speak of their lot in life, and why drawing lots means deciding by chance. British speakers say the lot for all of it ('I ate the lot') and a bad lot for someone you would not trust. One spelling rule: a lot is two words, and 'alot' is not English.

Phrases it lives in

• draw lots — To decide something by chance, each person taking a marked token or straw.
• throw in your lot with somebody — To join them and share whatever happens to them.
• a bad lot — A person who cannot be trusted.