sample
/sæːm.pəl/ · sam·ple
noun
- A part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen. The lab technician collected a blood sample for testing.
- A subset of a population selected for measurement, observation or questioning, to provide statistical information about the population. The researchers surveyed a random sample of 500 voters.
- A small quantity of food for tasting, typically given away for free. The bakery offered a chocolate chip cookie sample to passersby.
verb
- To take or to test a sample or samples of. She sampled the soil before planting the garden.
- To reduce a continuous signal (such as a sound wave) to a discrete signal. The audio engineer sampled the analog recording at 44.1 kHz.
- To reuse a portion of (an existing sound recording) in a new piece of music. The producer sampled a drum break from a 1970s funk track.
Did you know? The practice of sampling in music, popularized in the 1980s hip‑hop scene, led to landmark legal cases that still shape copyright law today.