dose

[ dohs ]

/ doʊs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dose ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a substance, situation, or quantity of anything analogous to medicine, especially of something disagreeable: Failing the exam was a hard dose to swallow.

an amount of sugar added in the production of champagne.

Physics.

Also called absorbed dose. the quantity of ionizing radiation absorbed by a unit mass of matter, especially living tissue: measured in gray or rad.
exposure dose.

Slang. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.

verb (used with object), dosed, dos·ing.

to administer in or apportion for doses.

to give a dose of medicine to.

to add sugar to (champagne) during production.

verb (used without object), dosed, dos·ing.

to take a dose of medicine.

Nearby words

dos passos, dos passos, john, dos passos, john roderigo, dos-à-dos, dosage, dose, dose equivalent, dose of one's own medicine, dose-response curve, dosh, dosimeter

Origin of dose

1590–1600; earlier dos < Late Latin dosis < Greek dósis a giving

Related forms

dos·er, nounsu·per·dose, nounun·der·dose, nounun·der·dose, verb (used with object), un·der·dosed, un·der·dos·ing.

well-dosed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dose

Stop Making Sense is the only current movie that's a dose of happiness from beginning to end.
The Stacks: Pauline Kael's Talking Heads Obsession|Pauline Kael|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The “gold standard” dose is 30 minutes of 10,000 lux light, one hour of 5,000 lux light or two hours of 2,500 lux light.
Fight Seasonal Affective Disorder With This New Tracker|DailyBurn|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Wednesday, anchor Shepard Smith gave Fox News viewers a dose of rationality.
Breakdancing Brad Pitt, Chainsaw Massacre Prank, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The story gets out that Obama skipped his usual afternoon dose of caffeine heading toward the U.N. meeting.
Obama, the Coffee Salute, and the Dementia on the Right|Sally Kohn|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Only one dose of an experimental serum was available, and Brantly insisted that it go to his colleague, Nancy Writebol.
Infected Ebola Doctor Kent Brantly Is an Endangered Hero|Michael Daly|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A dose of marchlor in a glass of wine had done what fifty men could not have accomplished by main strength.
The Martian Cabal|Roman Frederick Starzl
One of the traders becoming tired of the continued application of an Indian for more grog, gave him a dose of laudanum.
The Great Company|Beckles Willson
One dose of a man who's got as little gumption as he, is all we can stand.
The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him|Paul Leicester Ford
He will make the dose more palateable by soothing their wounded pride.
The Greville Memoirs (Third Part) Volume I (of II)|Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville
As the sun is wanted to glorify the right features of a landscape, this girl thirsted for a dose of golden flattery.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete|George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for dose

dose

/ (dəʊs) /

noun

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

informal something unpleasant to experiencea dose of influenza

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

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

slang a venereal infection, esp gonorrhoea

like a dose of salts very quickly indeed

verb (tr)

to administer a dose or doses to (someone)

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

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

to add syrup to (wine) during bottling

Derived Formsdoser, noun

Word Origin for dose

C15: from French, from Late Latin dosis, from Greek: a giving, from didonai to give

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

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

c.1600, from Middle French dose (15c.), from Late Latin dosis, from Greek dosis "a portion prescribed," literally "a giving," used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine, from stem of didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)). Slang meaning "venereal disease" is from 1914.

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

1650s, from dose (n.). Related: Dosed; dosing.

Medicine definitions for dose

dose

[ dōs ]

n.

A specified quantity of a therapeutic agent, such as a drug, prescribed to be taken at one time or at stated intervals.

The amount of radiation administered as therapy to a given site.

v.

To give or prescribe something, such as medicine, in specified amounts.

To give someone a dose, as of medicine.

dose

noun

verb (used with object), dosed, dos·ing.

verb (used without object), dosed, dos·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of dose

Examples from the Web for dose

British Dictionary definitions for dose

dose

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for dose

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

Medicine definitions for dose

dose

n.

v.

dose

.css-1gxch3{color:#1a1a1a;font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;}noun

verb (used without object), dosed, dos·ing.

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Origin of dose

Examples from the Web for dose

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} dose

dose

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for dose

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

Word Origin and History for dose (1 of 2)

dose

Medicine definitions for dose

dose

n.

v.

noun

British Dictionary definitions for dose