doze
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to sleep lightly or fitfully.
-
to fall into a light sleep unintentionally (often followed byoff ).
He dozed off during the sermon.
-
to sleep for a short time; nap.
-
to be dull or half asleep.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
dozes
plural
verb (used with or without object)
verb
-
to sleep lightly or intermittently
-
(often foll by off) to fall into a light sleep
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of doze1
1640–50; originally (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
Origin of doze2
First recorded in 1940–45; shortened form of bulldoze
Explanation
Are you sleepy? Maybe you need to doze a little. To doze is to sleep lightly or to take a nap. To doze is to just have a little sleep: either a short nap or a very light snooze. Since doze and snooze almost rhyme — and snoring sounds a little like ZZZZZZZZZZZ — the letter Z might be a good way to remember this word. Just make sure you don't "doze off" in class.
Vocabulary lists containing doze
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Festival of Sleep Day
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Voyage of the Frog
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In a blaring nightclub in wartime Myanmar, partied-out revellers doze until dawn by the dancefloor, wary of journeying home despite the end of a post-coup curfew.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Cameras caught him appearing to doze in December at a cabinet meeting and during a November announcement about reducing the cost of weight-loss medication.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
When she did doze off, Dame Jacqueline said she wanted to sleep too but used the short window available to write.
From BBC ● May 30, 2025
Several will even doze off, napping in Tennis Paradise, which is the only place that actually lives up to that hype.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
Pax would doze with his muzzle and front paws getting so hot that Peter kept checking them.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
She struggles to fall asleep, her father said, and often asks him to stay by her side while she dozes off.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
In one canvas, a woman dozes peacefully on a couch; in another, two women linger in a lush garden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
Footage released on Tuesday shows police officers conferring on how to arrest the suspect as he apparently dozes in a car with a running engine.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2023
Jayna dozes off during the 30-minute trip down Minnesota Avenue that takes passengers past corner stores and fast food restaurants, brick rowhouses and beauty supply stores.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2023
Soon after we’ve eaten, she dozes off, and my mom and dad settle in to watching movies.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
"The project is so massive that it's basically hard to really grasp, even though we're right here on the sidelines," Pitkanen said, as a few cows dozed in a meadow in front of the barn.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
“When does the president the sleep?” asked Colbert, before flashing a picture of Trump dozed off at an Oval Office event.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Sophie dozed off and woke up about 07:00 and was immediately concerned about a lack of movement.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
She was home at 9 p.m. and quickly dozed off, but within hours, she woke her mother up.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2024
But he must have dozed off, because he woke to total darkness.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday brushed off suggestions that President Donald Trump was regularly dozing off during Cabinet meetings, as questions persist over the health of the oldest US president ever inaugurated.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Jamie McGrath's vicious free-kick, Beni Banigime dozing and in rushed Boyle - cool and calm, a sidefoot to the solar plexus of the visitors.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
He can often be seen sunning himself on the dock, with other sea lions dozing or barking away nearby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
He’s been dozing off in meetings, which led Dick Cheney’s doctor to call for a medical evaluation.
From Slate ● Jan. 26, 2026
He just couldn’t stay up without a TV, and even if there was one, he’d still be dozing.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
