Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: essample, from Latin exemplum; EXAMPLE

sample

1 noun
     
sam‧ple1 S3 W2 [countable]
1 a small part or amount of something that is examined in order to find out something about the whole
sample of
I'd like to see some samples of your work.
They took a blood sample to test for hepatitis.
2 a small amount of a product that people can try in order to find out what it is like
sample of
samples of a new shampoo
3 a small group of people who have been chosen from a larger group to give information or answers to questions:
The sample consisted of 98 secondary school teachers.
Out of a random sample of drivers, 21% had been in an accident in the previous year.
a nationally representative sample of over 950 elderly persons
4 a small part of a song from a CD or record that is used in a new song:
Her latest album makes extensive use of samples from a wide range of acid jazz tracks.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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