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

In late August, the U.S. government also issued a drought disaster declaration covering more than two dozen cities and towns.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

At 09:30, a dozen or so migrants emerged from the sand dunes.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

On a summer morning before the heat set in, he pointed out the spot where his flock of over a dozen birds once roamed, strutting across the sand like remnants of the Jurassic era.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Through her media prominence and prolific output as an author, with a dozen books to her name, Steinem dispelled the stereotype of the humorless feminist simply by living.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

Jonah let about a dozen kids file out ahead of him; he could see them stretched out across the yard in the sunshine, headed for the woods of the nature preserve.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The power supply was cut off in the area, where dozens of police officers had been deployed, an AFP journalist observed.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

A federal judge recently approved a $72.5 million settlement with Bank of America that will be distributed to dozens of Epstein victims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Because she avoids buying secondhand Sonny Angels due to potential fakes, she would have probably spent more buying dozens of sealed blind boxes in the hopes of pulling the unicorn figure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Peters spearheaded an exhausting, 1,500-mile island-wide bus tour spanning all 32 counties, completing dozens of radio chats and community stops to promote the swansong.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

I’m not even thinking about Ainsley or the Excelsior Award, because I’m having too much fun thinking about all those rescue dogs making dozens of Mrs. Gilberts happy.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• twelve