dozen
/ˈdʌz(ə)n
/noun
1 (plural same) A group or set of twelve: a dozen bottles of sherry...
- Eventually the claims were whittled down to around a dozen which had some credibility.
- It's Friday evening and so there are a dozen of us trying to catch the barman's eye in the George.
- The base of the trunk is pushed just four feet into the ground and secured with a dozen or more wooden wedges.
1.1 (dozens) informal A lot: she has dozens of admirers...
- Scores dead, hundreds wounded, dozens of television networks scrambling to find an angle.
- Kodak decided to invest dozens of billions of US dollars globally last year to expand its business.
- The 80 pages and dozens of questions gave plenty of food for thought.
2 (the dozens) An exchange of insults engaged in as a game or ritual among black Americans.The two loudly play the dozens, insulting each other to the delight of neighbors.
Phrases
by the dozen
talk nineteen to the dozen
Derivatives
dozenth
/ adjective ...- Once we'd finished up and I'd remarked for the dozenth time on the superb quality of the Victoria Sponge, we headed off on the second leg of our journey.
- ‘I shouldn't have asked ‘Tanj muttered to herself for the dozenth time…
- ‘That is not how you recruit help,’ he said to her, as though a parent repeating some instruction for the dozenth time.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French dozeine, based on Latin duodecim 'twelve'.