dozen

noun

doz·​en ˈdə-zᵊn 

plural dozens or dozen

1

: a group of 12

roses sold by the dozen

2

: an indefinitely large number

dozens of times

Dozens of people were at the park.

3

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

… He also likes to crack jokes. On this side of the diaspora, we would call that playing the dozens. That's also a big part of hip-hop culture.

—Tressie McMillan Cottom

In African American culture there is a verbal game of teasing known as "playing the dozens" consisting of two people, typically males, trading insults about each other and their family members.

—Leon Williams

compare joning

dozen adjective

dozenth

ˈdə-zᵊn(t)th 

adjective

I'm telling you for the dozenth time.

Synonyms of dozen

• 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

Essential goods strain meager household budgets, with consumers paying around 363 Pakistani rupees for a dozen eggs or 2,186 Pakistan rupees for a kilogram of wheat flour, according to economic data firm CEIC Data, citing 2025 figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. —Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026

Princess Mette-Marit, the Crown Princess of Norway, exchanged dozens of emails with Epstein, some as recently as 2014. —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026

Rescuers in Italy reported Monday that at least a dozen skiers, climbers and hikers died over the past week in a record-setting tragedy in the country’s mountainous terrain. —Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026

Last year, his administration announced a series of deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower prices of a few dozen drugs, including some eye-popping decreases of anywhere from 55 to 98 percent. —Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

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