dose
Americannoun
-
doses
plural
-
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 grays: although increasingly disfavored, in the U.S. an absorbed dose may still be measured in rads.
-
-
Slang. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.
verb (used with object)
-
doses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dosed,
past participle, past
-
dosing
present participle
-
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)
-
doses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dosed,
past participle, past
-
dosing
present participle
noun
-
med a specific quantity of a therapeutic drug or agent taken at any one time or at specified intervals
-
informal something unpleasant to experience
a 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
-
very quickly indeed
verb
-
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dosesimple
-
dosessimple
-
have dosedperfect
-
has dosedperfect
-
am dosingprogressive
-
are dosingprogressive
-
is dosingprogressive
-
have been dosingperfect progressive
-
has been dosingperfect progressive
Past
-
dosedsimple
-
had dosedperfect
-
was dosingprogressive
-
were dosingprogressive
-
had been dosingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
A dose is the amount of medicine you're supposed to take. A bottle of aspirin has the recommended dose printed on its side. When your doctor prescribes medication, she tells you what dose you should take, whether it's one pill twice a day or two teaspoons just before bedtime. You can also get a dose of something else: having x-rays gives you a small dose of radiation, for example, and watching the news instead of your favorite cartoon can be said to give you a dose of reality. The Greek root of dose is dosis, "a portion prescribed."
Vocabulary lists containing dose
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.
See Examples For:
A single dose is all that is needed to offer protection ahead of winter.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Scientists would also need to establish an appropriate dose that provides benefits safely while minimizing the risk of harmful interactions with other medications.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
After surgery, doctors recommended she receive a tetanus jag and a dose of immunoglobulin to provide immediate protection against the potentially fatal infection as she hadn't been vaccinated before.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Currently the lowest dose Wegovy pill available is 1.5 milligrams for the starter dose, with patients able to work their way up to the highest 25-milligram dose over time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
I’d be the last to doubt that good writers are blessed with an innate dose of fluency with syntax and memory for words.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Currently there is not a testosterone medication licences for women in the UK, so the male product is prescribed in far lower doses.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
After four years of follow-up, adults who had received at least one of the two Shingrix doses were substantially less likely to receive a dementia diagnosis.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
In excessive doses it can cause confusion or even delirium.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Ideally, the H5N1 vaccine should be administered in two doses with a gap of three-to-four weeks, Todd said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
But when the human body is exposed to massive doses of radiation, cells begin to die.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Note: Each circle represents the date a Chinese treatment was granted clinical-trial approval, dosed its first patient or was granted ethics-committee approval.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Intellia said that the patient who died had been dosed with nex-z on Sept. 30.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
This summer's recovery from back surgery has been more dosed in reality, though.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025
The pins, and the dosed paper that resulted, followed a compact grid, which took the form of five tight rows of 20 columns each—the “5-20” pattern slyly referred to above.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2024
The friendship with Rebeca opened up to Pilar Ternera the doors of the house, dosed by Úrsula since the birth of Arcadio.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Customers have bristled at the higher upfront cost and have mentioned in online reviews that they wish the tiles had perforations for more adjustable dosing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Researchers will also need to answer key questions about dosing, timing, long term safety, and whether the benefits apply to human skin, surgical recovery, diabetic wounds, or other slow healing conditions.
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026
For patients who exercise an hour or more every day, he has been able to move them to longer dosing intervals once they hit their goal weight, according to his research.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
"With sufficient justification, appropriate dosage form, and dosing regimen, creatine may eventually be recognized as an over-the-counter therapeutic agent rather than merely a dietary supplement."
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
Maman Thibaut has been dosing Amélie with café au lait at the big kitchen table.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
