doze

[dohz]

See more synonyms for doze on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), dozed, doz·ing.

to sleep lightly or fitfully.
to fall into a light sleep unintentionally (often followed by off): He dozed off during the sermon.
to sleep for a short time; nap.

to be dull or half asleep.

verb (used with object), dozed, doz·ing.

to pass or spend (time) in drowsiness (often followed by away): He dozed away the afternoon.

noun

a light or fitful sleep; nap.

Origin of doze

1640–50; orig. (now obsolete) to stupefy, make drowsy; compare Scots, N England dialect dozened, Middle English (Scots) dosnyt, dosinnit stupefied, dazed; akin to Old Norse dūsa rest, Swedish dialect dusa doze, slumber, Middle Low German dusen to be thoughtless; cf. daze

Synonyms for doze

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6. snooze, siesta, catnap, forty winks.

doze

[dohz]

verb (used with or without object), dozed, doz·ing.

Informal. to clear or level with a bulldozer.

Origin of doze

First recorded in 1940–45; shortened form of bulldoze

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for doze

snooze, slumber, catnap, nap, siesta, drowse, sleep, shut-eye

Examples from the Web for doze

Historical Examples of doze

I doze for a little, and when I waken there are people in the room.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
A doze in the coach is the flower of dozes, when you are alone.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, Issue 266, July 28, 1827
Various
Then he wakened out of his doze, and began questioning me who the gentlemen were.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
And so, after a while, exhausted from her efforts, she fell into a doze.
The Vagrant Duke
George Gibbs
Pardon my appearance, but I was startled out of a doze when you knocked.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for doze

doze

verb (intr)

to sleep lightly or intermittently
(often foll by off) to fall into a light sleep

noun

a short sleep

Derived Formsdozer, noun

Word Origin for doze

C17: probably from Old Norse dūs lull; related to Danish döse to drowse, Swedish dialect dusa slumber

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 doze

1640s, probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse dusa "to doze," Danish døse "to make dull," Swedish dialectal dusa "to sleep"); related to Old English dysig "foolish" (see dizzy). May have existed in dialect earlier than attested date. Related: Dozed; dozing. As a noun, from 1731.