I. pronoun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a lot more
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She cares a lot more for her dogs than she does for me.
a lot more
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He travels around a lot more now that he has a car.
a lot of controversy
▪
There's been a lot of controversy about the term 'victim'.
a lot of fun ( also lots of fun )
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The kids had a lot of fun singing and dancing.
a lot of interest
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There has been a lot of interest in the story.
a lot of nonsense (= things that are completely untrue )
▪
‘Don’t fill her head with a lot of nonsense,’ said her mother.
a lot
▪
There were a lot of people at the party.
An awful lot of (= a large number of people )
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An awful lot of people died in the war.
cost a lot
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Their hair products are really good but they cost a lot.
cost money/cost a lot of money
▪
Good food doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
do a lot for sth (= have a good effect on something )
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The new leisure centre has done a lot for the town’s image.
got a lot on...mind (= a lot of problems to worry about )
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Sorry I forgot. I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment.
had a lot in common with
▪
I found I had a lot in common with these people.
have a lot of curiosity
▪
Bright children often have a lot of curiosity.
have a lot/too much to lose (= used to say that you could make your situation much worse )
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These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system.
have great/deep/a lot of etc admiration
▪
She always had great admiration for people who could speak so many languages.
little/a lot of/no persuading
▪
He took a lot of persuading to come out of retirement it was hard to persuade him .
lost a lot of blood
▪
He’s lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger.
matter a lot/a great deal
▪
It mattered a great deal to her what other people thought of her.
meant a lot to
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The medal meant a lot to him.
much/a lot less
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It costs much less to go by bus.
much/a lot/far better
▪
We now have a much better understanding of the disease.
much/a lot/far less
▪
Social class matters a lot less than it used to.
much/a lot/far more
▪
Diane earns a lot more than I do.
much/a lot/far more
▪
Children generally feel much more confident working in groups.
much/a lot/far worse
▪
Conditions were much worse in rural areas.
not a lot/much/many etc (= only a few, only a little etc )
▪
Not much is known about the disease.
▪
Not many people have read the report.
owe sb a lot/owe sb a great deal
▪
‘I owe my parents a lot,’ he admitted.
parking lot
seeing a lot of
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They’ve been seeing a lot of each other.
Thanks a lot
▪
Thanks a lot for the drink.
There’s a lot of it about
▪
I hope she hasn’t caught flu. There’s a lot of it about .
vacant lot (= empty unused area of land in a city )
▪
There was only a vacant lot where her house used to be.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(a) fat lot of good/use
▪
A fat lot of good it did me!
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Frederick Bissett was a member of the Institute of Professional Scientists, and a fat lot of good that did him.
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Getting the pound down was what Labour governments did with metronomic regularity. Fat lot of good it did them.
a lot/something/not much etc to be said for (doing) sth
a whole lot
▪
A.. There are some people whose physical and mental age is a whole lot younger than their nominal age.
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For every winner, there's a loser - or a whole lot of them, more likely.
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He wouldn't tell me a whole lot about what the countries were like, because he didn't know himself.
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However, it did not take a whole lot of time to qualify my actions.
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Inwardly he is a whole lot more.
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It was a whole lot better than the old pineapple.
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Now, doesn't that sound a whole lot more exciting than the next Prodigy video?
▪
Probably in the early afternoon, when visitors look a whole lot less suspicious.
a whole lot (of sth)
▪
A.. There are some people whose physical and mental age is a whole lot younger than their nominal age.
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All parties suffered, yet it was difficult to generate a whole lot of pity for any of them.
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Being a real ex-Commie used to be a badge of honor among a whole lot of righties.
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He and the son have a whole lot sticking in their craw.
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He wouldn't tell me a whole lot about what the countries were like, because he didn't know himself.
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I said a whole lot of other stuff and I ended up getting severely told off.
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In reality, of course, it stands for something a whole lot less fierce-sounding - simply one's partner in life.
▪
Slick graphics slides can cost a whole lot more.
bad lot/sort/type
▪
And yes, I know, even as a spectator, I was condoning the worst sort of behavior.
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But maybe that is the worst sort of wishful thinking.
▪
Domestic violence is insanity of the worst sort.
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He was a bad lot and it was just one of those things.
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I left to live with a boyfriend, who turned out to be a bad lot.
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If so, San Diego was among the worst of a bad lot.
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If they do not, they will be guilty of the worst sort of hypocrisy.
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The city's school system, among the worst of a bad lot through the state, is full of squabbling.
draw lots/straws
▪
Did you ever draw straws when you were a kid?
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It is a curious turn around from the days when bondholders pleased to be bought out and were driving to drawing lots!
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She took it thoughtfully like some one choosing a straw when drawing lots.
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The players alternate between the white and black pieces and draw lots to determine who plays white in today's first game.
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Then we drew lots to decide the order in which we should improvise, night by night.
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They drew lots to decide which should first seize his lady, and fortune favored Ephialtes.
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They also took turns administering the city-state, drawing lots to settle who would take on which job.
have a lot going for you
▪
With her brains and good looks, she certainly has a lot going for her.
▪
Human travel agents, paper guidebooks and newspaper ads still have a lot going for them.
have a lot of/no time for sb/sth
▪
Quite honestly I don't have a lot of time for any of them.
have a lot to answer for
▪
That sister of yours has an awful lot to answer for.
have a lot to say for yourself
have a lot/enough on your plate
▪
Beckham may have enough on his plate attempting to recapture his early-season form without being burdened with any extra responsibilities.
have nothing/not much/a lot etc going for sb/sth
job lot
▪
Even kitchen utensils are being sold along with a job lot of washing machines, dryers and ironing machines for £200.
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He would, he said, take care of film and theatre reviews as a job lot if he got free tickets.
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I've still got 300 sets left over from that job lot I got the other Christmas.
leave a lot/sth/much to be desired
▪
Bob's idea of a balanced diet left something to be desired.
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His treatment of capital and profits left much to be desired.
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On the campaign trail, his oratorical skills have left much to be desired.
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On theoretical grounds, however, it leaves much to be desired.
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The quality of research in the area of child abuse still leaves much to be desired.
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To some degree they have been hampered by courses of study and lesson plans thai leave something to be desired.
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While the woodwind and low strings were reasonably well replicated, the violins, timpani and brass left much to be desired.
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Yet, as a match, it left something to be desired.
love (from sb)/lots of love/all my love
make a (lot of) noise about sth
▪
Apparently Bradford is interested in having it and Bristol has also made noises about it.
▪
I made noises about the absence of a bank in this so-called international airport; but what choice did I have?
▪
It was extended, but the Provisionals continued to make noises about renewing the violence.
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Kirchberg is where the peace and quiet is worth making a noise about.
quite a lot/bit/few
▪
A better day today, Miss Lavant wrote in her diary, quite a bit of sunshine.
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By no means, Watson; even now quite a few scientists continue to doubt.
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I lived quite a lot of my early childhood at the Thompsons' house behind a shop on Harehills Parade.
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Obviously, you have to wear quite a lot of protective clothing to minimise the risk of getting injured.
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Over 296 pages, Fallows cites quite a few.
▪
The man looks prosperous, like quite a few men.
▪
There's quite a bit of noise coming from the kitchens.
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There has been quite a lot of talk recently about adding enzymes to help the carp digest our sophisticated carp baits.
take a lot out of you/take it out of you
thanks a lot
▪
"I forgot to bring your money." "Well, thanks a lot!"
▪
Gee, thanks a lot for saving me from Madonna in the morning.
▪
Hey, thanks a lot, Wyatt.
the best of a bad lot/bunch
the whole lot
▪
And the whole lot smelt - a pervasive stench of damp and mildew.
▪
Do you read the whole lot, or read the first one and the last one and guess the rest?
▪
For a moment Clare felt like telling him not to bother, just chuck the whole lot away.
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Haven't got two original ideas to rub together between the whole lot of them.
▪
I was there to cover the whole lot, newly assigned as city reporter for the Nogales International.
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It must be the whole lot of them, the whole flock and there were hundreds in the field.
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Of course, we could sell the whole lot without the trouble of hanging them.
whole lot
▪
A whole lot of meat went down those hungry throats.
▪
All parties suffered, yet it was difficult to generate a whole lot of pity for any of them.
▪
However, it did not take a whole lot of time to qualify my actions.
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I done buried a whole lot of people, but she the first one I ever wondered about.
▪
It was in weather like this that she had an urge to take the scissors and cut the whole lot off.
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Me, I've got to wire the whole lot in.
▪
Probably in the early afternoon, when visitors look a whole lot less suspicious.
▪
The whole lot is then regurgitated and given to mugs to drink.
would give anything/a lot/your right arm etc for sth
II. noun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Lot fifteen was a box of old books.
▪
Bring that lot over here, will you?
▪
Don't take any notice of that lot , they're just ignorant.
▪
I don't like her new friends - they're a snobbish lot .
▪
Keeler is the best player of the lot .
▪
Right lads, let's pick up this lot and go home.
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She handed me a bag of old clothes. "Could you take this lot to the charity shop for me?''
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She seems happy enough with her lot in life.
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The car stopped outside a used car lot at the end of the street.
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We've got another lot of visitors coming this weekend.
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We used to play baseball in the vacant lot .