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

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of dozen in a Sentence

dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected

Recent Examples on the Web

Who won and lost Wisconsin politics in 2024? After a whirlwind year for national and state politics, Dan Bice takes stock of the winners and losers, with input from a dozen Democratic and Republican politicos. —Hope Karnopp, Journal Sentinel, 30 Dec. 2024

Riot doubled the size of the group tasked with connecting its games to the entertainment industry to more than two dozen people. —Cecilia D’anastasio, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024

While the Democratic sample size is small, Trump has defeated upwards of two dozen Republicans, including some of the party’s top political talent. —W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Dec. 2024

Last year, lawmakers from more than a dozen African countries met in Uganda and discussed introducing legislation to crack down on L.G.B.T.Q. people. —Sarah Hurtes, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024

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