plenty

1 of 4

pronoun

plen·​ty ˈplen-tē 

singular or plural in construction

: an adequate or more than adequate number or amount of something : a number or amount of something that is enough for a particular purpose

had plenty of time to finish the job

plenty of room

I don't need more. I have plenty.

There's plenty to do/see here.

plenty

2 of 4

noun

: an abundance especially of material things that permit a satisfactory life : a condition or time of abundance

a feeling of plenty

a land of plenty

a season of plenty

plenty

3 of 4

adjective

1

: plentiful in amount, number, or supply

if reasons were as plenty as blackberries

—William Shakespeare

2

: ample

plenty work to be done

—Time

Using Plenty as an Adjective: Usage Guide

Many commentators object to use of sense 2 in writing; it appears to be limited chiefly to spoken English. Sense 1 is literary but is no longer in common use.

plenty

4 of 4

adverb

: more than sufficiently : to a considerable degree

the nights were plenty cold

—F. B. Gipson

Using Plenty as an Adverb: Usage Guide

Many handbooks advise avoiding the adverb plenty in writing; "use very, quite, or a more precise word," they advise. Actually plenty is often a more precise word than its recommended replacements; very, fully, or quite will not work as well in these typical quotations.

it's already plenty hot for us in the kitchen without some dolt opening the oven

—C. H. Bridges

may not be rising quite as rapidly as other health costs, but it is going up plenty fast

—Changing Times

It is not used in more formal writing.

Phrases

in plenty

: present or existing in large amounts : in abundance

There were eggs in plenty not far off, in the hen house.

—Robert C. O'Brien

… academics can cite evidence in plenty … to justify their skepticism.

—Peter Green

Synonyms

Noun

• abundance
• cornucopia
• feast
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plethora
• superabundance
• wealth

Adjective

• abundant
• ample
• aplenty
• bounteous
• bountiful
• comfortable
• cornucopian
• galore
• generous
• liberal
• plenteous
• plentiful

Examples of plenty in a Sentence

Noun

They thought of America as the land of plenty.

you'll have plenty of time to make your connecting flight

Adjective

we've picked plenty blueberries, so there'll be some left over after we make the pie

Adverb

There's plenty more where that came from.

The car is plenty large enough to fit six people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

The Incredible Hulk, was still plenty profitable, making $265 million on a $150 million budget. —Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2023

The dining room, accented by a huge wooden table and plenty more art work, also holds a $20 dollar bill with Harriet Tubman’s face honoring past efforts by the Obama administration to get the legendary abolitionist on the note. —Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 13 Nov. 2023

Your tree will be plenty happy with a refreshing refill of fresh clean water. —Katherine Owen, Southern Living, 12 Nov. 2023

Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Franken and Donald Trump successfully made the leap into lawmaking, and plenty more have tried (see: Dr. Oz, Cynthia Nixon, Herschel Walker, Caitlyn Jenner, Clay Aiken, Ben Savage, even Shirley Temple). —Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023

But there’s plenty more spiritual sound to go around. —Tom Roland, Billboard, 8 Nov. 2023

While the contents of the Salvador Dalí Museum are plenty interesting, the exterior architecture — a free-form geodesic glass bubble erupting from 18-inch-thick walls — is worth a visit in its own right. —Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2023

What then is too much, when a sleight of the rational names plenty as recursion in thickets, absent blaring data and the insects vanish. —Alice Gribbin, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023

But plenty more needs to be done, including a mass hiring spree. —Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Pronoun

Middle English plente, borrowed from Anglo-French plenté, adaptation as quantifier of plenté "abundance, plenty entry 2"

Noun

Middle English plente "abundance, fullness," borrowed from Anglo-French plenté, pleinté "abundance, bounty" (also continental Old & Middle French), going back to Latin plēnitāt-, plēnitās "fullness to saturation," from plēnus "full" + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at full entry 1

Adjective

Middle English plente, adaptation as quantifier of plenté "abundance, plenty entry 2"

Adverb

derivative of plenty entry 1

First Known Use

Pronoun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1775, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing plenty

• enough/plenty to go around
• horn of plenty
• many/plenty more fish in the sea
• enough/plenty to go round
• in plenty

• enough/plenty to go around
• horn of plenty
• many/plenty more fish in the sea
• enough/plenty to go round
• in plenty

Kids Definition

plenty

1 of 2 noun

plen·​ty ˈplent-ē 

1

a

: a full supply

had plenty of time to finish

b

: a large number or amount

is in plenty of trouble

2

: the state of being plentiful

times of plenty

plenty

2 of 2 adverb

: quite sense 2

the game was plenty exciting