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Definition of plenty pronoun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

plenty

pronoun
 
 
/ˈplenti/
 
/ˈplenti/
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  1. plenty (of something) a large amount; as much or as many as you need
    • plenty of eggs/money/time
    • ‘Do we need more milk?’ ‘No, there's plenty in the fridge.’
    • They always gave us plenty to eat.
    • We had plenty to talk about.
    Grammar Point much / a lot of / lots ofmuch / a lot of / lots of
    • Much is used only with uncountable nouns. It is used mainly in questions and negative sentences:
      • Do you have much free time?
      • How much experience have you had?
      • I don’t have much free time.
    • In statements a lot of or lots of (informal) is much more common:
      • How much (money) does she earn?
      • She earns a lot of money.
      You can also use plenty (of). These phrases can also be used in questions and negative sentences.
    • A lot of/​lots of is still felt to be informal, especially in British English, so in formal writing it is better to use much, a great deal of or a large amount of.
    • Very much and a lot can be used as adverbs:
      • I miss my family very much.
      • I miss very much my family.
      • I miss my family a lot.
      • Thanks a lot.
      In negative sentences you can use much:
      • I didn’t enjoy the film (very) much.
    Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘fullness, perfection’): from Old French plente, from Latin plenitas, from plenus ‘full’.
See plenty in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee plenty in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: plenty

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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