half-dozen

American  

[half-duhz-uhn, hahf-] / ˈhælfˈdʌz ən, ˈhɑf- /

noun

1. one half of a dozen; six.

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adjective

1. considering six as a unit; consisting of six.

half-dozen British  

determiner

1. (preceded by a)

   1. six or a group of six

      a half-dozen roses

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as singular or plural )

      at least a half-dozen

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Etymology

Origin of half-dozen

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

A half-dozen passenger jets flying to Dubai from capitals including London, Warsaw and Moscow were kept in holding patterns for almost half an hour waiting out a strike.

From The Wall Street Journal

It showed a half-dozen upright missiles moving along the tracked carousel in a cavernous tunnel.

From The Wall Street Journal

On a bridge next to the Kremlin on a drizzly Friday morning, a lone Russian police officer stood looking at the half-dozen bunches of flowers laying in memory of slain opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.

From Barron's

For 15 hair-raising minutes, the pilots struggled to evade a half-dozen surface-to-air missiles, spraying countermeasures and executing a series of high-G maneuvers.

From The Wall Street Journal

At least a half-dozen state legislatures are debating bills that could stop new data centers from being built.

From Barron's