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 dozens
  • In fact, there were dozens of leagues, large and small, at this time.
  • Milk contains dozens of other types of proteins besides the caseins.
  • There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time.
British Dictionary definitions for dozens

dozens

/ˈdʌzənz/
plural noun
1.
(usually foll by of) (informal) a lot: I've got dozens of things to do

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 dozens

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 dozens

dozen

Related Terms

a dime a dozen


Idioms and Phrases with dozens

dozen

see: