# sample

/ˈsæmpəɫ/ (US) · /sˈɑːmpəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sample
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a specimen or example

noun · CEFR B1

a small amount of something that shows you what the rest is like.

For teachers: a representative part or item taken from a larger group or mass for inspection or analysis.

- The doctor asked for a blood sample to check for any health problems.
- The laboratory technician carefully labelled each soil sample before beginning the chemical analysis to determine nutrient levels.

### 2. statistics

noun · CEFR B2 · Academic

a small group of people or things chosen from a larger group to be studied.

For teachers: a subset of a population selected for measurement or questioning to generate data reflecting the whole.

- The survey used a sample of 500 students from across the country.
- To ensure the validity of the study, the researchers selected a random sample that accurately represented the city's diverse demographics.

### 3. food or product trial

noun · CEFR B1

a small piece of food or a product given to you for free to try.

For teachers: a small quantity of a commercial product, often food or fabric, provided to consumers for trial or evaluation.

- The supermarket was giving out free samples of their new cheese.
- The salesperson offered a fabric sample so the interior designer could verify the colour under different lighting conditions.

### 4. music

noun · CEFR B2

a short piece of a recorded song used in a new song.

For teachers: a portion of an existing sound recording reused as an instrument or a sound recording in a new composition.

- The hip-hop track uses a famous sample from a 1970s jazz record.
- The producer spent hours manipulating the vocal sample, pitching it down until it was almost unrecognisable from the original source.

### 5. to try or test

verb · CEFR B1

to try a small amount of something to see if you like it.

For teachers: to test or examine a representative part of something; often used for tasting food or experiencing a variety of things.

- We spent the afternoon sampling different types of tea at the market.
- During his travels through Southeast Asia, he made a point of sampling the local street food in every city he visited.

### 6. to reuse audio

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to take a piece of sound from one recording and use it in another.

For teachers: to incorporate a segment of a pre-existing sound recording into a new musical work.

- Many modern pop songs sample classic hits from the eighties.
- The artist was sued for copyright infringement after he sampled a well-known bassline without obtaining the necessary legal permissions.

Usage: The verb is transitive and requires a direct object representing the source material.

## Examples

- The baker gave me a free sample of the new bread.
- Researchers collected a blood sample from each participant to test for the presence of the antibody.
- The marketing team distributed a small sample of the fragrance to potential customers to gauge public interest before the official product launch next month.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.