dozen
1 Americannoun
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dozens,
plural
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dozen
plural
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a group of 12.
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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
verb (used with object)
determiner
noun
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in large quantities
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See baker's dozen
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to talk without stopping
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing dozen
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:
Drones are readily available at specialised electronics shops across the province, with AFP finding them in around a dozen such stores in shopping malls in Peshawar alone.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
California and nearly two dozen other states warned the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
They headed to the backyard, where a dozen containers lay in the sun, one for each of the international archaeological missions that had been working in Sudan before the war’s start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
More recently, the Treasury has warned half a dozen countries, including Oman, not to allow the airline to use their airports, people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The sound carried down the mountainside, and there was a rustling, a hiss and bubble of conversation, as two dozen sphinxes came loping back up it.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
In Arak, an industrial hub in western Iran, dozens lined up Monday in front of the governor’s office and said they could no longer make ends meet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
After years of limited actions, dozens of lawmakers are now touting new proposals to regulate artificial-intelligence models that have stepped up their capabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and vowed never to relinquish its weapons, of which it is estimated to possess dozens.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Heder would work for two years on researching and developing the project with Heumann, interviewing dozens of people involved in the actual Carter-era protest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
She pulled up her sleeve to reveal a large watch with dozens of arrows that seemed to move in various directions.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
