dote
[ doht ]
/ doʊt /
Save This Word!
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
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of dote
1175–1225; Middle English doten “to behave foolishly, become feeble-minded”; cognate with Middle Dutch doten
OTHER WORDS FROM dote
doter, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use dote in a sentence
There are five varieties of them, the largest of which is the hood seal and the smallest the doter or harbour seal.
Ungava Bob|Dillon WallaceThe handsomest of them all is the "ranger," as the young doter is called.
Ungava Bob|Dillon Wallace
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, nounWord 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