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

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

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

The BBC has removed nearly a dozen comedy sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look after deciding they no longer "work today".

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Out of the 25,000 people in attendance, only a few dozen showed up for the presentations of activists like Mawarire and Mahboob.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

A consortium of more than a dozen financial institutions including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Santander, has been moving forward on a stablecoin venture, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

A video from the scene released by prosecutors shows animals doubled up in cages, barking and frightened, and over a dozen cats held in a fenced area.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

She tells me about their root systems—that even though the trees can grow over three hundred feet high, their roots barely go down a dozen feet in the ground.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

But over the past year, a wave of data center pushback has swept the nation, including California, where dozens of cities and counties have proposed or adopted moratoriums on the facilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The technical problem at Prestwick in Ayrshire caused disruption at airports across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, delaying dozens of flights.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Researchers simulated dozens of possible chemical formulations and particle shapes before manufacturing the most promising versions in the laboratory.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Fennell is one of dozens of people suing Novo, maker of the popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, claiming the medication caused this side effect.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

They send dozens of seniors to Ivy League schools every year.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• twelve