Dozen — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun /ˈdə-zᵊn/ doz·en

Meaning & Definition of Dozen

Dozen (noun)

  1. a group of 12
  2. an indefinitely large number
  3. a ritualized African American word game that consists of exchanging insults usually about the members of an opponent's family

Dozen (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a considerable amount

    "dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected"

    similar: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (chiefly British), 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, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng, gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion
    opposite: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace
    near: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section, absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

Related Entry: Dozens (noun)

Dozens is a different word from Dozen. The synonyms below are for dozens, not for dozen.

  1. a considerable amount

    "dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected"

    similar: abundances, barrels, basketfuls, boatloads, buckets, bunches, bundles, bushels, carloads, chunks, deals, fistfuls, gobs, good deals, heaps, hundreds, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lots, masses, messes, mountains, much, multiplicities, myriads, oodles, packs, passels, pecks, piles, platefuls, plenitudes, plenties, plentitudes, potfuls, pots, profusions, quantities, rafts, reams, scads, sheaves, shiploads, sights, slews, spates, stacks, stores, tons, truckloads, volumes, wads, wealths, yards, all kinds (of), quite a bit
    related: epidemics, plagues, rashes, bonanzas, embarrassments, excesses, overabundances, overages, overkills, overmuch, oversupplies, plethoras, redundancies, superabundances, superfluities, surfeits, surpluses, deluges, floods, overflows, armies, bevies, crams, crowds, crushes, droves, flocks, herds, hordes, hosts, legions, mobs, multitudes, presses, scores, seas, swarms, throngs, gazillions, jillions, kazillions, millions, thousands, trillions, zillions
    opposite: aces, bits, dabs, drams, driblets, glimmers, handfuls, hints, licks, little, mites, mouthfuls, nips, ounces, peanuts, pinches, pittances, scruples, shades, shadows, smidgens, specks, spots, sprinkles, sprinklings, strains, streaks, suspicions, tastes, touches, traces
    near: atoms, crumbs, dots, flecks, flyspecks, fragments, grains, granules, iotas, jots, modicums, molecules, motes, nubbins, particles, rays, scintillas, scraps, shreds, tittles, whits, smatterings, smatters, dashes, drops, morsels, shots, pieces, portions, sections, absences, dearths, famines, lacks, paucities, poverties, scarcities, shortages, undersupplies, wants, deficiencies, deficits, inadequacies, insufficiencies

Related Entry: A dime a dozen (phrase)

A dime a dozen is a different word from Dozen. The synonyms below are for a dime a dozen, not for dozen.

  1. often observed or encountered

    "Actors like him are a dime a dozen, and you have to stand out if you want to make it in this business."

    similar: common, common or garden (chiefly British), commonplace, everyday, familiar, frequent, garden-variety, household, ordinary, quotidian, routine, ubiquitous, usual
    related: normal, regular, standard, de rigueur, mandatory, obligatory, general, universal, ceaseless, constant, continual, continuous, incessant, unceasing, endemic, popular, prevailing, prevalent, rampant, perennial, recurrent, repeated
    opposite: extraordinary, infrequent, rare, seldom, uncommon, unfamiliar, unusual
    near: aberrant, abnormal, irregular, unnatural, intermittent, occasional, sporadic

Related Entry: Daily dozen (noun)

Daily dozen is a different word from Dozen. The synonyms below are for daily dozen, not for dozen.

  1. as in regimen

    similar: regimen, drill, grind, groove, lockstep, pattern, rote, routine, rut, treadmill, housekeeping, custom, fashion, habit, practice, trick, wont, approach, manner, method, procedure, strategy, style, tack, technique, way, design, plan, program, scheme, convention, policy, tradition

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Dozen

The most common words with a similar meaning to Dozen:

Chiefly British: lashings
abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Dozen

Words with the opposite meaning of Dozen:

ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen, speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste

Related Words for Dozen

epidemic, plague, rash, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, deluge, flood, overflow, army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host

Near Antonyms of Dozen

atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit, smatter, smattering, dash, drop, morsel, shot, piece, portion, section

Word Forms of Dozen

Inflections: dozens

Derived words: dozen (adjective), dozenth (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Dozen

Middle English dozeine, from Anglo-French duzeine, dozeyne, from duze twelve, from Latin duodecim, from duo two + decem ten two, ten

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Dozen

Words & 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

Frequently Asked Questions about Dozen

What does "Dozen" mean?

"Dozen" means a group of 12. As a noun, it is defined as: a group of 12.

What is another word for "Dozen"?

Other words for "Dozen" include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle and bushel. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Dozen" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Dozen"?

There are 101 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Dozen". Common alternatives include abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload and chunk.

What is the opposite of "Dozen"?

Antonyms of "Dozen" include ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful and hint. Near antonyms include atom, crumb, dot and fleck.

How do you use "Dozen" in a sentence?

Examples of "Dozen" in a sentence: "dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected".

Is "Dozen" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Dozen" is a noun.

Is "Dozen" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Dozen" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Dozen"?

"Dozen" is pronounced /ˈdə-zᵊn/ and divided into syllables as doz·en.