dozen

noun

doz·​en ˈdə-zᵊn 

plural dozens or dozen

1

: a group of 12

2

: an indefinitely large number

dozens of times

3

the dozens plural in form but singular in construction : a ritualized African American word game that consists of exchanging insults usually about the members of an opponent's family

dozen adjective

dozenth

ˈdə-zᵊn(t)th 

adjective

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of dozen in a Sentence

dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected

Recent Examples on the Web

Almost a dozen groups have filed with the state to oppose the ballot measure and, ideally, prevent it from meeting the July 5 deadline for roughly 90,000 signatures, according to officials. —Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 28 Apr. 2024

On Wednesday, nearly a dozen migrants boarded an airport shuttle after all of the other passengers waiting in line were on board. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dozeine, from Anglo-French duzeine, dozeyne, from duze twelve, from Latin duodecim, from duo two + decem ten — more at two, ten

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dozen

• a dime a dozen
• baker's dozen
• daily dozen
• half a dozen
• half dozen
• it's six of one and half a dozen of the other
• it's six of one, half (a) dozen of the other
• several dozen
• talk nineteen to the dozen

Kids Definition

dozen

noun

doz·​en ˈdəz-ᵊn 

plural dozens or dozen

: a group of twelve

dozen adjective

dozenth

-ᵊn(t)th 

adjective

Etymology

Middle English dozeine "dozen," from early French dozeyne (same meaning), derived from Latin duodecim "twelve," from duo "two" and decem "ten" — related to decimal, dime, dual