I. ˈsam-pəl noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French sample, essample, from Latin exemplum — more at example
Date: 15th century
1. : a representative part or a single item from a larger whole or group especially when presented for inspection or shown as evidence of quality : specimen
2. : a finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole
3. : an excerpt from a musical recording that is used in another artist's recording
Synonyms: see instance
II. transitive verb
( sam·pled ; sam·pling -p(ə-)liŋ)
Date: 1767
1. : to take a sample of or from ; especially : to judge the quality of by a sample : test
sampled his output for defects
sample a wine
2. : to use a segment of (another's musical recording) as part of one's own recording
III. adjective
Date: 1820
: serving as an illustration or example
sample questions