dozen

¹

[doh-zuhn]

verb (used with object)

Scot.

1. to stun.

dozen

²

[duhz-uhn]

noun

plural

dozens ,

plural

dozen .

1. a group of 12.

2. Slang.,  the dozens, a ritualized game typically engaged in by two persons each of whom attempts to outdo the other in insults directed against members of the other's family (usually used in the phraseplay the dozens ).

adjective

1. twelve.

dozen

/ ˈdʌzən /

determiner

1. 1. twelve or a group of twelve

      a dozen eggs

      two dozen oranges

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural )

      give me a dozen

      there are at least a dozen who haven't arrived yet

noun

1. in large quantities

2. See baker's dozen

3. to talk without stopping

Other Word Forms

• dozenth adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dozen¹

1325–75; Middle English (Scots); doze ¹

Origin of dozen²

1250–1300; Middle English dozeine < Old French do ( u ) zaine, equivalent to do ( u ) ze (< Latin duodecim ) + -aine (< Latin -āna ) -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of dozen¹

C13: from Old French douzaine, from douze twelve, from Latin duodecim, from duo two + decem ten

Idioms and Phrases

see baker's dozen; by the dozen; daily dozen; dime a dozen; six of one, half dozen of the other.

Example Sentences

“History” is a major player in this breathless narrative, as in “gales of history,” “maelstrom of history,” “winds of history,” “tide of history” and the “frenetic pace of history”—all within a few dozen pages.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His meticulous survey takes in dozens of sources, from the obscure to the well-known: pamphlets to legal codes, sermons to atlases, maps, travel narratives, even journals kept by ships’ captains.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But last year, half a dozen residents told Panorama the site owner had told them they could live on the park full time when they bought their caravans.

Read more on BBC

In short, they’re as suited to their surroundings as an order of wings at a sports bar: They fit, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine enjoying them in dozens of other places.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Indeed, so much of Abha, the capital of the southwestern province of Asir, seems a world away — and two dozen degrees cooler — from the scorching desert that dominates Western notions of the kingdom.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• twelve