Lot n.
1. That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.
But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay. --Spenser.
2. Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without man's choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.
The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. --Prov. xvi. 33.
If we draw lots, he speeds. --Shak.
3. The part, or fate, which falls to one, as it were, by chance, or without his planning.
O visions ill foreseen! Each day's lot's
Enough to bear. --Milton.
He was but born to try
The lot of man -- to suffer and to die. --Pope.
4. A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; all objects sold in a single purchase transaction; as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.
I, this winter, met with a very large lot of English heads, chiefly of the reign of James I. --Walpole.
5. A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city.
The defendants leased a house and lot in the city of New York. --Kent.
6. A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; to waste a lot of time on line; lots of people think so. [Colloq.]
He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business. --W. Black.
7. A prize in a lottery. [Obs.]
To cast in one's lot with, to share the fortunes of.
To cast lots, to use or throw a die, or some other instrument, by the unforeseen turn or position of which, an event is by previous agreement determined.
To draw lots, to determine an event, or make a decision, by drawing one thing from a number whose marks are concealed from the drawer.
To pay scot and lot, to pay taxes according to one's ability. See Scot.