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dozen

1 American  
[duhz-uhn] / ˈdʌz ən /

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 2 American  
[doh-zuhn] / ˈdoʊ zən /

verb (used with object)

Scot.

  1. to stun.

dozen British  
/ ˈdʌzən /

determiner

    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
"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

noun

  1. in large quantities

  2. See baker's dozen

  3. to talk without stopping

"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
dozen Idioms  

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

Other Word Forms

  • dozenth adjective

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 dozen1

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

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.

The landslide sank a ferry and seriously damaged another passenger vessel that had dozens of people on board, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

From BBC

Lithuania shut its border with Belarus in October after dozens of balloons loaded with illegal cigarettes entered its airspace, forcing several airports to close and inflaming tensions between the two countries.

From Barron's

Wagner, 38, lasted just five months at Augsburg, which is languishing in 14th in the Bundesliga with just 10 points in a dozen matches.

From Barron's

Today he works for a skilled-trade union that is deploying two dozen workers to the site, and he hails the reopening as a “blessing.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It is supposed to be the busiest time of year for the Roadies trucking company, but dozens of its trucks sit idle — unlikely casualties of a surprise scrutiny of laborers from India.

From Los Angeles Times

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.