Definition of dossier
- the patient's medical dossier
- Police began compiling a dossier on him.
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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dossier.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Gather together various documents relating to the affairs of a certain individual, sort them into separate folders, label the spine of each folder, and arrange the folders in a box. "Dossier," the French word for such a compendium of spine-labeled folders, was picked up by English speakers in the late 19th century. It comes from "dos," the French word for "back," which is in turn derived from "dorsum," Latin for back. Our word dorsal ("situated on the back"), as in the dorsal fin of a whale, comes from the same Latin source.
: a group of papers that contain detailed information about someone or something
See words that rhyme with dossier Spanish Central: Translation of dossier Nglish: Translation of dossier for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dossier for Arabic speakers
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