dozen

¹ American  

[duhz-uhn] / ˈdʌz ən /

noun

• dozens,
  plural
• dozen
  plural

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 ).

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adjective

1. twelve.

dozen ² American  

[doh-zuhn] / ˈdoʊ zən /

verb (used with object)

Scot.

1. to stun.

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dozen British  

/ 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

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noun

1. in large quantities

2. See baker's dozen

3. to talk without stopping

dozen Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dozenth
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dozen
  plural
• dozens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dozen¹

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

Origin of dozen²

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

Explanation

A dozen is twelve. If you buy a dozen doughnuts for six people, everyone will get to eat two of them. When you buy a dozen of something, you'll end up with twelve items. Your cat might, amazingly, have a dozen kittens, leading you to make a dozen phone calls trying to find homes for them all. Sometimes people use the word dozens to generically mean "a whole lot," as when you gasp, "There are dozens of seagulls sitting on my car!" Dozen has a Latin root, duodecim, "twelve."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dozen dozens

On average, France experiences several dozen tornadoes per year, according to the country's national weather service Météo-France.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Nearly three dozen matches came from people diagnosed with cancer, specifically lung, breast, and liver cancers.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

France sees several dozen tornadoes of varying intensity each year, according to weather agency Meteo-France.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Nearly half a dozen players only returned from their post-World Cup breaks 10 days before the opening game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

In the central foyer of the police station with half a dozen German soldiers looking on.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

"Because teens move fluidly across dozens of apps, we need an industry-wide solution," said C.J.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

With only days left in the legislative session, California lawmakers are racing through dozens of high-stakes bills that will shape energy and environmental priorities at the state and federal levels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The BBC has heard similar stories from dozens of Chinese teenagers in chat rooms across various social media platforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The merger would create a media giant with two movie and television studios, dozens of cable channels, two subscription streaming services and a broadcast network.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

It was a stack of bread, dozens of flat black loaves piled one on top of another.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• twelve