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:
“There’s a lot of commiserating,” says Troy Cormier, CEO of the Jason’s Deli chain that has 200-plus locations across more than two dozen states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
In Omar's first public interview since the pre-dawn search of her home, she detailed how Homeland Security Investigations agents seized over a dozen items, including cell phones and notebooks, as part of an investigation.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
More than half a dozen TV cameras were lined up at the back of the room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
He and his wife employ over a dozen people, including their four daughters, making decorative banners for clients as far away as South Korea and Japan.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Now, in addition to Betsie, a dozen others on our pier were taking it.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
At another company’s event in Nashville this spring, Scott Stevens was among dozens of fund managers who descended on a luxury hotel to pitch wealthy investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Indonesia has announced "administrative sanctions" against dozens of firms and criminal proceedings against 125 individuals and corporations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
She’s done dozens of interviews chronicling an industry that rose to prominence in the 1970s and grew on subsidies designed to promote it as renewable energy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
One of its most striking features is an approximately 11,000-square-foot, air-conditioned collector’s garage, which once housed dozens of Foreman’s prized vehicles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 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
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