dozen

¹ American  

[duhz-uhn] / ˈdʌz ən /

noun

• dozens,
  plural
• dozen
  plural

1. a group of 12.

2. Slang. the dozens, a ritualized game typically engaged in by two persons each of whom attempts to outdo the other in insults directed against members of the other's family (usually used in the phraseplay the dozens ).

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adjective

1. twelve.

dozen ² American  

[doh-zuhn] / ˈdoʊ zən /

verb (used with object)

Scot.

1. to stun.

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dozen British  

/ ˈdʌzən /

determiner

1. 1. twelve or a group of twelve

      a dozen eggs

      two dozen oranges

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      give me a dozen

      there are at least a dozen who haven't arrived yet

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noun

1. in large quantities

2. See baker's dozen

3. to talk without stopping

dozen Idioms  

1. see baker's dozen; by the dozen; daily dozen; dime a dozen; six of one, half dozen of the other.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dozenth
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dozen
  plural
• dozens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dozen¹

1250–1300; Middle English dozeine < Old French do ( u ) zaine, equivalent to do ( u ) ze (< Latin duodecim ) + -aine (< Latin -āna ) -an

Origin of dozen²

1325–75; Middle English (Scots); see doze ¹

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Explanation

A dozen is twelve. If you buy a dozen doughnuts for six people, everyone will get to eat two of them. When you buy a dozen of something, you'll end up with twelve items. Your cat might, amazingly, have a dozen kittens, leading you to make a dozen phone calls trying to find homes for them all. Sometimes people use the word dozens to generically mean "a whole lot," as when you gasp, "There are dozens of seagulls sitting on my car!" Dozen has a Latin root, duodecim, "twelve."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dozen dozens

At first, still thinking of ourselves as making a magazine, we uploaded full “issues” of a dozen or so stories over the office modem on Friday nights.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

More than a dozen provided examples of repayments based on higher-than-average earnings, but 12 gave examples that were lower:

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

A few dozen ballot measures related to data centers were put before voters this week, according to Redbud Consulting.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Hirsch, a former Wall Street trader, launched Think Jerky from his Chicago living room a dozen years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

He’d already eaten five eggs and a half dozen strips of bacon, and he was still working on a stack of pancakes tall enough to sit on.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

The United States has imposed sanctions on dozens of companies and individuals linked to an alleged Cambodia-based cyberscam group and a network in Madagascar that targeted Americans.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

He was sent by Mexico to the U.S. last year, along with dozens of imprisoned Mexican cartel leaders and lieutenants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Henderson was taking a short break after applying for dozens of Hollywood jobs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

August brought Super Typhoon Dolphin, which churned across the Pacific for 16 days - before slamming into eastern China, triggering heavy floods and dozens of casualties.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

There were dozens of other department stores in the city.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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Related Words

• twelve

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