dose

American  

[dohs] / doʊs /

noun

1. a quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken at one time.

2. a substance, situation, or quantity of anything analogous to medicine, especially of something disagreeable.

   Failing the exam was a hard dose to swallow.

3. an amount of sugar added in the production of champagne.

4. Physics.

   1. Also called absorbed dose.  the quantity of ionizing radiation absorbed by a unit mass of matter, especially living tissue, measured in grays: although increasingly disfavored, in the U.S. an absorbed dose may still be measured in rads.

   2. exposure dose.

5. Slang. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.

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verb (used with object)

dosed, dosing

1. to administer in or apportion for doses.

2. to give a dose of medicine to.

3. to add sugar to (champagne) during production.

verb (used without object)

dosed, dosing

1. to take a dose of medicine.

dose British  

/ dəʊs /

noun

1. med a specific quantity of a therapeutic drug or agent taken at any one time or at specified intervals

2. informal something unpleasant to experience

   a dose of influenza

3. Also called: dosage.  the total energy of ionizing radiation absorbed by unit mass of material, esp of living tissue; usually measured in grays (SI unit) or rads

4. Also called: dosage.  a small amount of syrup added to wine, esp sparkling wine, when the sediment is removed and the bottle is corked

5. slang a venereal infection, esp gonorrhoea

6. very quickly indeed

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verb

1. to administer a dose or doses to (someone)

2. med to give (a therapeutic drug or agent) in appropriate quantities

3. (often foll by up) to give (someone, esp oneself) drugs, medicine, etc, esp in large quantities

4. to add syrup to (wine) during bottling

Other Word Forms

• doser noun
• superdose noun
• underdose noun
• well-dosed adjective

Etymology

Origin of dose

First recorded in 1590–1600; French , from Late Latin dosis, from Greek dósis “a giving, gift,” derivative of didónai “to give”

Example Sentences

The flash memory company has benefited from soaring memory costs and a healthy dose of investor hype, which it validated by crushing earnings estimates in January.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The drugmaker said a starting dose of Foundayo costs $149 per month for those paying cash.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

This involved taking a dose of dexamethasone at night and having blood drawn the next morning to measure cortisol levels.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

A nurse has injected a dose of stem cells into Kenneth Scott through an IV in his arm; earlier, those same stem cells had been extracted from Scott’s body so they could be “activated.”

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

“Ah, my frien’s,” he said softly, “mebbe it mek you mad dog, dose many bites. Mebbe all mad dog, sacredam! Wot you t’ink, eh, Perrault?”

From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London

Related Words

• application
• dosage
• lot
• measure
• measurement
• prescription
• quantity
• shot