Sample Meaning
Sample Definition & Usage
A small part or portion of something that is taken as representative of the whole.
Examples
- "I received a sample of the new perfume to test before buying the full bottle."
- "The survey team collected a sample of water from the lake to analyze its quality."
- "The store is offering free samples of their new snack."
- "A small sample of the soil was tested to determine the presence of contaminants."
- "The company asked for a sample of my work to evaluate my skills before offering the job."
A subset of a population or data set selected for analysis, often used in statistical studies.
Examples
- "The researcher selected a random sample of students from different grades to conduct the survey."
- "For the clinical trial, a sample of 100 participants was chosen from the total population."
- "The accuracy of the poll depends on how representative the sample is of the entire voting population."
- "They used a sample of 50 products to determine the defect rate."
- "The sample size must be large enough to ensure reliable results in scientific studies."
To take a small part or portion of something to analyze or test it.
Examples
- "The technician will sample the air quality in different rooms of the building."
- "Before making the final decision, we need to sample the product from several suppliers."
- "The chefs sampled various ingredients to create the perfect dish for the menu."
- "In order to ensure fairness, the inspector sampled products from different production batches."
- "They decided to sample the local cuisine while traveling through the country."
A portion of a sound recording that is reused in another recording, typically in music production.
Examples
- "The song featured a sample from a popular 80s hit."
- "Many hip-hop artists use samples from classic soul records in their tracks."
- "The producer incorporated a drum beat sample from a famous jazz album into the new song."
- "The music producer cleared the sample rights before releasing the track."
- "Sampling has become a defining feature of modern electronic music production."
Cultural Context
The term 'sample' has diverse meanings across different fields, from science and statistics to music and consumer products. In the context of research, it plays a critical role in inferential statistics, where it allows for conclusions about a larger population. In music, sampling refers to the reuse of audio material from older tracks, a practice that has revolutionized genres like hip hop and electronic music.
The Sampling Adventure
Story
The Sampling Adventure
It was the first day of summer break, and Jamie, an aspiring scientist, was busy in her makeshift laboratory. She had spent weeks experimenting with various liquids, hoping to discover something new for her school project. Today was special: she was taking her first sample from a mysterious liquid she had found in the woods behind her house. Wearing gloves and goggles, Jamie carefully extracted a small portion of the liquid into a vial, her excitement growing. 'This is it,' she thought, 'the key to my breakthrough.' But when she arrived at the local lab for analysis, she was told that she needed a larger sample. Disappointed but undeterred, she returned home and repeated the process, this time ensuring the sample was taken from different points of the liquid, hoping to get a more accurate representation of its properties. Later that evening, Jamie’s older brother, Max, was working on his music mix. He loved incorporating different sounds into his tracks, and today he was experimenting with a sample from a classic 90s hip-hop album. As he tweaked the beats, he realized how the sample transformed his own work, adding a rich texture to his music. Later that week, Jamie and Max sat down together. Jamie shared her findings from her experiment, explaining how the different samples she had taken from the liquid helped her understand its properties. Max, in turn, played her his latest track, which featured the same sampled sound from the hip-hop album. As they listened, Jamie laughed. 'It’s funny,' she said, 'how a sample can change everything, whether in science or music.' Both Jamie and Max had learned that a small piece of something could hold the key to something much bigger. In both science and art, sampling was more than just taking a portion—it was about discovery, creativity, and exploration.
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