A lot or alot: which is correct?
Correct: a lot — Avoid: alot. A lot = a large number or amount, or (as an adverb) very much; allot (one word, double l) is a different verb meaning to distribute.
- Part of speech
- noun phrase / adverb
- Source
- Merriam-Webster
Why
Merriam-Webster treats a lot as two words (the article a plus the noun lot) and alot as a common misspelling of it. The similar-looking allot is a different verb, meaning to give out as a share.
Examples
- Thanks a lot for your help.
- We learned a lot on the trip.
Wrong → right
Native spelling engine
- Checked against
- Merriam-Webster / Oxford
- Spelling authority
- Merriam-Webster · Oxford English Dictionary / Oxford spelling · SCOWL
- Commonly confused and non-standard forms
- 64
- Dictionary
- Hunspell en_US / en_GB / en_AU / en_CA · Dictionary license: MIT AND BSD (SCOWL combined licence)
Commonly confused words
Commonly confused words are pairs or groups that sound or look alike but differ in meaning or grammar, such as affect and effect, its and it’s, or principal and principle. Each entry here explains the difference in plain words, shows it in two example sentences and names the convention it follows: Merriam-Webster for American English, Oxford for British English. Spelling variants such as colour and color are marked as correct in their own variety, not as errors.