[sam.pling] n (1778) 1: the act, process, or technique of selecting a suitable sample; specif: the act, process, or technique of selecting a representative part of a population for the purpose of determining parameters or characteristics of the whole population
2: a small part selected as a sample for inspection or analysis "ask a ~ of people which candidate they favor"
3: the introduction or promotion of a product by distributing trial packages of it