doze

verb \ ˈdōz \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Definition of doze

dozed; dozing

intransitive verb

1 a : to sleep lightly

b : to fall into a light sleep —usually used with off

2 : to be in a dull or stupefied condition

transitive verb

: to pass (time) drowsily

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doze

noun

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dozer

noun

Recent Examples of doze from the Web

Layla was dozing at their home in Gaza City when a call went up: A bus was waiting, outside a nearby mosque, to take residents to the border fence, where the protest was raging.

— declan walsh, New York Times, "A Child of Gaza Dies. A Symbol Is Born. The Arguing Begins.," 16 May 2018
Giroux scored his first playoff goal in 12 games near the end of the first period, which woke the dozing Penguins for the rest of the evening.

— marcus hayes, Philly.com, "Flyers, inspired by Sean Couturier, come of age in Game 5 win over Penguins | Marcus Hayes," 20 Apr. 2018
People who sleep while wearing contacts that aren’t safe for dozing are at a higher risk of developing corneal infections (infections of the transparent layer on the front of your eye) than those who don’t.

— korin miller, SELF, "6 Mistakes You're Making With Your Eyes," 4 Apr. 2018
If anyone started to doze off, participants said they were sprayed with water.

— amy julia harris and shoshana walter, charlotteobserver, "Drug users got exploited. Disabled patients got hurt. One woman benefited from it all. | Charlotte Observer," 21 May 2018
But dozing off isn't just for humans, or even mammals more generally.

— michael greshko, National Geographic, "Brainless Creatures Can Do Some Incredibly Smart Things," 21 May 2018
The Bulldogs’ lead quickly became 2-0 just two minutes into the second quarter when Elias Hutchinson bull-dozed through traffic to find the back of the net.

— kyle mcfadden, Howard County Times, "Late goal lifts Marriotts Ridge boys lacrosse past Southern for 2A South region title," 17 May 2018
Eight hours after getting up in Vieques, Garcia dozed in one of the pink reclining chairs lining the walls of the treatment room in Humacao, still only halfway through his four-hour dialysis treatment.

— carmen heredia rodriguez, CNN, "Months after Maria, Puerto Rican patients must travel 12 hours for dialysis," 18 Apr. 2018
Nearby, Momo dozes on a couch, her head resting on Deirdre's shoulder.

— andrea simakis, cleveland.com, "Loves, losses of Everyfamily exposed in 'The Humans' (reviews)," 13 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'doze.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of doze

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse dūsa to doze

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1677

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

doze

verb

Definition of doze

dozed; dozing

transitive verb

: bulldoze 2

—

dozer

noun

Origin and Etymology of doze

probably back-formation from dozer (bulldozer)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1945

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Civil Engineering Terms

asphalt, ballast, barrage, cantilever, infrastructure, sluice

DOZE Defined for Kids

doze

verb \ ˈdōz \

Definition of doze for Students

dozed; dozing

: to sleep lightly

The baby soon fell asleep and Shlemiel dozed too, still rocking the cradle with his foot.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer, Zlateh the Goat

— doze off

: to fall asleep

I dozed off on the couch.

doze

noun

Definition of doze for Students

: a light sleep

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See words that rhyme with doze Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for doze Spanish Central: Translation of doze Nglish: Translation of doze for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of doze for Arabic speakers

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doze

Definition of doze

doze

dozer

Recent Examples of doze from the Web

Origin and Etymology of doze

doze

Definition of doze

dozer

Origin and Etymology of doze

Other Civil Engineering Terms

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DOZE Defined for Kids

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Definition of doze for Students

doze

Definition of doze for Students

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