lot of

a lot of

A large number or amount of (people or things). There are still a lot of issues plaguing the operating system that we need to figure out before it's released next month. We did a lot of promotion for our show, but not a lot of people showed up.
See also: lot, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

lot of someone or something

 and lots of people or things
a large number of people or things; much of something. I got a lot of presents for my birthday. I ate lots of cookies after dinner.
See also: lot, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • lots of
  • lots of people or things Go to a lot of
  • a whole lot more
  • whole heap more
  • a whole heap
  • any amount of (something)
  • any amount/number of something
  • as many as
  • as many as...
  • with great (something) comes great (something else)
References in classic literature
About the middle came the lot of Atalanta; she, seeing the great fame of an athlete, was unable to resist the temptation: and after her there followed the soul of Epeus the son of Panopeus passing into the nature of a woman cunning in the arts; and far away among the last who chose, the soul of the jester Thersites was putting on the form of a monkey.
wrote to their lawyer in New Orleans, who attached the real estate (these two articles and a lot of plantation hands formed the most valuable part of it), and wrote word to that effect to New York.
Skeggs is busy and bright, for a lot of goods is to be fitted out for auction.
He's a lazy sort of chap, hates work, and I guess he only got the job because his uncle had got a lot of shares in the business.
I was taken prisoner by one of those chaps, carried off to their beastly village and very nearly murdered by a chap who seemed to be a cross between an executioner and a high-priest, and who kept dancing round me, singing a lot of rot and pointing a knife at me.
You're one of a lot of impostors that are the worst lot of all the lots to be met with.
He didn't sleep much, he was in such a sweat to get in there and find out the mystery about Phillips; and moreover he done a lot of guessing about it all night, which warn't no use, for if you are going to find out the facts of a thing, what's the sense in guessing out what ain't the facts and wasting ammunition?
"What a lot of those Frenchies were taken today, and the fact is that not one of them had what you might call real boots on," said a soldier, starting a new theme.
"Hark at them roaring there in the Fifth Company!" said one of the soldiers, and what a lot of them there are!"
"Oh, how pretty!--and what a lot of trees and grass all around it!
Just as it is when the PRETTY hair-ribbons come in the barrels after a lot of faded-out brown ones.
China's over there, an' in between's a mighty lot of salt water that's no good for farmin' purposes."
The Shepherdsons and Grangerfords used the same steam- boat landing, which was about two mile above our house; so sometimes when I went up there with a lot of our folks I used to see a lot of the Shepherdsons there on their fine horses.
"There's a lot of work to do here!" he said once, looking about quite exultantly.
"I've been thinking a lot of our talk," he began, "and I've got an idea I'd like to give it a flutter.