dose
Americannoun
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a quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken at one time.
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a substance, situation, or quantity of anything analogous to medicine, especially of something disagreeable.
Failing the exam was a hard dose to swallow.
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an amount of sugar added in the production of champagne.
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Physics.
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Also called absorbed dose. the quantity of ionizing radiation absorbed by a unit mass of matter, especially living tissue, measured in grays: although increasingly disfavored, in the U.S. an absorbed dose may still be measured in rads.
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Slang. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.
verb (used with object)
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to administer in or apportion for doses.
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to give a dose of medicine to.
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to add sugar to (champagne) during production.
verb (used without object)
noun
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med a specific quantity of a therapeutic drug or agent taken at any one time or at specified intervals
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informal something unpleasant to experience
a dose of influenza
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Also called: dosage. the total energy of ionizing radiation absorbed by unit mass of material, esp of living tissue; usually measured in grays (SI unit) or rads
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Also called: dosage. a small amount of syrup added to wine, esp sparkling wine, when the sediment is removed and the bottle is corked
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slang a venereal infection, esp gonorrhoea
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very quickly indeed
verb
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to administer a dose or doses to (someone)
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med to give (a therapeutic drug or agent) in appropriate quantities
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(often foll by up) to give (someone, esp oneself) drugs, medicine, etc, esp in large quantities
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to add syrup to (wine) during bottling
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dose
First recorded in 1590–1600; French , from Late Latin dosis, from Greek dósis “a giving, gift,” derivative of didónai “to give”
Explanation
A dose is the amount of medicine you're supposed to take. A bottle of aspirin has the recommended dose printed on its side. When your doctor prescribes medication, she tells you what dose you should take, whether it's one pill twice a day or two teaspoons just before bedtime. You can also get a dose of something else: having x-rays gives you a small dose of radiation, for example, and watching the news instead of your favorite cartoon can be said to give you a dose of reality. The Greek root of dose is dosis, "a portion prescribed."
Vocabulary lists containing dose
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.
That means they may want to increase the dose more slowly rather than sticking to the standard titration schedule.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Diranersen slowed Alzheimer’s progression across all doses, with the 60 milligram dose showing the strongest cognitive benefits.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
But with a dose of Kiwi banter and the ability to laugh at themselves, the mistakes only made the show funnier and a reminder of why we’ve missed them.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
All the Berlin songs remain magical, even if a cast, like the one here, thinks they need to be delivered with a dose of camp, as if we’ve heard them so often they’re quaint.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
I shake it—and quite sure I experience close to a lethal dose of electricity.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
