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Synonyms

doze

1 American  
[dohz] / doʊz /

verb (used without object)

dozed, dozing

  1. to sleep lightly or fitfully.

  2. to fall into a light sleep unintentionally (often followed byoff ).

    He dozed off during the sermon.

  3. to sleep for a short time; nap.

  4. to be dull or half asleep.

verb (used with object)

dozed, dozing

  1. to pass or spend (time) in drowsiness (often followed byaway ).

    He dozed away the afternoon.

noun

  1. a light or fitful sleep; nap.

    Synonyms:
    forty winks, catnap, siesta, snooze
doze 2 American  
[dohz] / doʊz /

verb (used with or without object)

dozed, dozing

  1. Informal. to clear or level with a bulldozer.

doze British  
/ dəʊz /

verb

  1. to sleep lightly or intermittently

  2. (often foll by off) to fall into a light sleep

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a short sleep

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • dozer noun

Etymology

Origin of doze1

1640–50; originally (now obsolete) to stupefy, make drowsy; compare Scots, N England dialect dozened, Middle English ( Scots ) dosnyt, dosinnit stupefied, dazed; akin to Old Norse dūsa rest, Swedish dialect dusa doze, slumber, Middle Low German dusen to be thoughtless; daze

Origin of doze2

First recorded in 1940–45; shortened form of bulldoze

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As her rivals nervously shuffle in their boots, Shiffrin will clear space on the ground, fold a parka as a pillow, shut her blue eyes and doze off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

He even seemed to doze off at one point in the middle of a presentation by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, in the Oval Office.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2025

When she did doze off, Dame Jacqueline said she wanted to sleep too but used the short window available to write.

From BBC • May 30, 2025

These six podcasts offer respites for your brain, delivering tales that are diverting enough to keep you focused, but uneventful enough that you can doze off.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2024

I doze a little, though sleep isn’t very different from being awake at the moment.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.