/sam"peuhl, sahm"-/ , n., adj., v., sampled, sampling .
n.
1. a small part of anything or one of a number, intended to show the quality, style, or nature of the whole; specimen.
2. Statistics. a subset of a population: to study a sample of the total population.
3. a sound of short duration, as a musical tone or a drumbeat, digitally stored in a synthesizer for playback.
adj.
4. serving as a specimen: a sample piece of cloth.
v.t.
5. to take a sample or samples of; test or judge by a sample.
[ 1250-1300; ME essample. See EXAMPLE ]
Syn. 1. See example .