dozen1

[duhz-uh n] /ˈdʌz ən/
noun, plural dozens (as after a numeral) dozen.
1.
a group of 12.
2.
the dozens, Slang. 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 phrase play the dozens).
adjective
3.
twelve.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English dozeine < Old French do(u)zaine, equivalent to do(u)ze (< Latin duodecim) + -aine (< Latin -āna) -an

dozen2

[doh-zuh n] /ˈdoʊ zən/
verb (used with object), Scot.
1.
to stun.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English (Scots); see doze1
Examples from the web for dozen
  • He has recorded more than a dozen albums, five on the warner bros.
  • For the next dozen years, she concentrated on concerts and recitals.
  • More than a dozen advanced reactor designs are in various stages of development.
  • Moreover, it is one of only a dozen or so stars telescopes have imaged as a visible disk.
  • His sister, who was ten years his senior, survived him for more than a dozen years.
  • The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots.
  • It is the largest such instrument family, with more than a dozen types.
  • It is expected that a few dozen planets will be found as a result of this project.
British Dictionary definitions for dozen

dozen

/ˈdʌzən/
determiner
1.
preceded by a or a numeral
  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
noun (pl) dozens, dozen
2.
by the dozen, in large quantities
3.
See baker's dozen
4.
talk nineteen to the dozen, to talk without stopping
See also dozens
Derived Forms
dozenth, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French douzaine, from douze twelve, from Latin duodecim, from duo two + decem ten
Word Origin and History for dozen
n.

c.1300, from Old French dozaine "a dozen," from doze (12c.) "twelve," from Latin duodecim "twelve," from duo "two" + decem "ten" (see ten).

The Old French fem. suffix -aine is characteristically added to cardinals to form collectives in a precise sense ("exactly 12," not "about 12"). The dozens "invective contest" (1928) originated in slave culture, the custom probably African, the word probably from bulldoze (q.v.) in its original sense of "a whipping, a thrashing."

Slang definitions & phrases for dozen

dozen

Related Terms

a dime a dozen


Idioms and Phrases with dozen

dozen

see: