Definition of "sample" []

• A portion, piece, or segment that is representative of a whole. (noun)
• An entity that is representative of a class; a specimen. See Synonyms at example. (noun)
• Statistics A set of elements drawn from and analyzed to estimate the characteristics of a population. Also called sampling. (noun)
• A usually digitized audio segment taken from an original recording and inserted, often repetitively, in a new recording. (noun)
• To take a sample of, especially to test or examine by a sample: the restaurant critic who must sample a little of everything. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Link to a personal blog or other online writing sample is preferred over a hard copy writing sample**"
• "On the 217 page Gray reference: Please cite the specific page that supports your restrictive or even non-restrictive use of the term sample error."
• "I also welcome the other stats jocks on this board to do so and to back me up on the usage of the term sample error in that article."