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

• ton
• loads
• plenty
• slew
• bunch
• hundred
• lot
• deal
• pile
• chunk
• quantity
• raft

Examples of dozen in a Sentence

dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected

Recent Examples on the Web

Fall is fast approaching, the season of pumpkin spice lattés, flannel shirts and of dozens of TV premieres. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

Burmese shops in Milwaukee sell dozens of kinds of canned or jarred items, including pickled ginger, pickled dogfruit, taro root and lotus root. —Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025

The images, posted on X by David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank, show the relocation of nearly two dozen large chillers once used to regulate centrifuge operations. —Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

The students spent about three months gathering data, interviewing dozens of sources and writing and editing stories under the guidance of a former Star reporter now teaching at Notre Dame. —IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025

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