dote

[ doht ]

/ doʊt /

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See synonyms for: dote / doting / doter on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), dot·ed, dot·ing.Also doat .

to bestow or express excessive love or fondness habitually (usually followed by on or upon): They dote on their youngest daughter.

to show a decline of mental faculties, especially associated with old age.

noun

decay of wood.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of dote

1175–1225; Middle English doten “to behave foolishly, become feeble-minded”; cognate with Middle Dutch doten

OTHER WORDS FROM dote

doter, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dote in a sentence

Long divorced, he doted on his grown children and guarded his solitude.
Spending a Day With Peter O’Toole|Malcolm Jones|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Pal Rich Collins says Nancy doted on Adam but was terribly sad that her son never “hugged her back.”
The Trials of Nancy Lanza|Diane Dimond|January 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In fact, on Facebook, the Scheneckers doted on their children.
Did Julie Schenecker Kill Her Kids?|Amy Green|February 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Robin was the light of everyone's life, the doted-upon, favored daughter.
The Strange Bush Fetus Secret|Casey Schwartz|November 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST

It is long since the sick world began to dote and talk idly: would she had but doted still!
Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter|Ben Jonson
For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein
Some were dirty and slovenly: the landladies of these called the children "little dears," and said "they doted on children."
Salome|Emma Marshall
She knew Polly: there was no middle ground between her likes and dislikes; she doted or she hated.
The Cup of Fury|Rupert Hughes
The husband did not like his wife, although she doted on him; and the English hated Philip still more than he hated them.
Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Isaac D'Israeli

British Dictionary definitions for dote

dote

now rarely doat

/ (dəʊt) /

verb (intr)

(foll by on or upon) to love to an excessive or foolish degree

to be foolish or weak-minded, esp as a result of old age

Derived forms of dote

doter or now rarely doater, noun

Word Origin for dote

C13: related to Middle Dutch doten to be silly, Norwegian dudra to shake

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

dote

Origin of dote

OTHER WORDS FROM dote

Words related to dote

How to use dote in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dote

now rarely doat

Derived forms of dote

Word Origin for dote