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

His production company, TeleVision for Arkansas, produced dozens of original films. —Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2025

Like Kiko, the center of dozens of storms passed close enough to leave impacts from winds, rain and rough seas. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which has organized dozens of boats to sail to Gaza carrying humanitarian aid, said that one of its main vessels was targeted in a drone strike just after midnight local time on Tuesday while docked near the Tunisian capital. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 10 Sep. 2025

Families in more than a dozen states now enjoy universal-eligibility school choice, enabling them to access a portion of education funding to use toward their preferred educational setting. —Kerry McDonald, Forbes.com, 10 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