- sample
- ▪ I. sample sam‧ple 1 [ˈsɑːmpl ǁ ˈsæm-] noun [countable]1. a number of people or things chosen from a large group to take part in studies that provide information about the whole group:sample of
• Of a sample of executives in 600 companies, 15% had no plans to do business in the EU.
• The survey was based on a random sample (= a number of people or things chosen without knowing anything about them ) of households from all income groups.
• The agency interviewed a representative sample (= a specially chosen group including several different types of people ) of 1,003 people in the city.
ˈquota ˌsample MARKETINGwhen a market is divided into different groups by age, sex, area etc, and a sample is then taken from each group, to reflect what percentage of each group is in the total market:• The quota sample can avoid the kind of gross errors made by attitude surveys in the past.
2. MARKETING a small amount of a product that people can use or look at in order to find out what it is like:• He used the product after receiving a free sample in the mail.
• We were shown some sample pages for the new book.
3. a small part or amount of something that is tested in order to find out something about the whole:quota sample of• A sample of the water showed that it contained high amounts of sodium.
ˈjudgement ˌsample also judgment sample ACCOUNTINGa number of items in a company's accounts that an auditor (= an accountant from outside the company) examines in order to decide if the accounts as a whole are correct[m0] ▪ II. sample sample 2 verb [transitive]1. to ask a group of people chosen from a larger group questions, in order to get information or opinions from them, so as to better understand the larger group:• Four different groups of adults were sampled for the survey.
2. to try a small amount of a product in order to find out what it is like:• Here's your chance to sample our latest product.
* * *
Ⅰ.sample UK US /ˈsɑːmpl/ noun [C]► COMMERCE, MARKETING a small amount of a substance, product, etc. that shows someone thinking of buying it what it is like: »a carpet/fabric/product sample
»Write to us and we will send you a free sample.
► MARKETING a group of people chosen from a larger group, who give their opinions, answer questions, etc. in order to provide information about the whole group: a sample of sth »A sample of three HR Managers and 30 employees was selected and interviewed.
»The marketing poll was conducted by telephone among a representative sample of 1,136 adults.
»a large/small sample
► a small amount of a substance or product that is tested to find out whether it is good, whether it contains a particular substance, etc.: »The investigation into tainted pet food has grown to include tests of 700 samples.
»The next step will be to build a few dozen samples of each device and send them out for testing in both urban and rural settings.
→ See also JUDGMENT SAMPLE(Cf. ↑judgment sample), QUOTA SAMPLE(Cf. ↑quota sample), RANDOM SAMPLE(Cf. ↑random sample), SALE BY SAMPLE(Cf. ↑sale by sample)Ⅱ.sample UK US /ˈsɑːmpl/ verb [T]► COMMERCE, MARKETING to try a small amount of a product, or try a service for a short time, in order to see whether you want to buy it: »On a typical overseas tour, a buyer could sample 120 wines in a day.
»They are recruiting 2,500 telephone customers to sample the service for 12 months.
► MARKETING to ask for the opinions of a number of people chosen from a group, in order to get information about the whole group: »The survey sampled 150 chief executives from both large and small companies.
► to test a small amount of a substance or product to find out whether it is good, whether it contains a particular substance, etc.: sample sth for sth »Before the food can be sold to markets and stores, the FDA samples goods for defects.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
