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
Tressie McMillan CottomIn 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 capping entry 2, joning
Leon Williams
dozen
adjective
Examples of dozen in a Sentence
dozens of new songs were auditioned and rejected
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump has held a dozen meetings his Cabinet so far in his second term, but Wednesday was supposed to be his first at Camp David, a compound built in 1938 that past presidents have turned to engage in diplomacy with foreign leaders.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 27 May 2026
But flanked by a dozen or so time-lapse cloud sequences, Maras and his cast strain toward a kind of biblical grandeur their painfully effortful film can’t reach.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
Over the past half dozen years, New Rochelle has become one of New York’s swiftest-growing cities.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
About a dozen spellers will advance to the finals, with the last two competitors facing off in a spell-off tiebreaker round.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for dozen
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Joey Garrison, USA Today, 27 May 2026
But flanked by a dozen or so time-lapse cloud sequences, Maras and his cast strain toward a kind of biblical grandeur their painfully effortful film can’t reach.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
Over the past half dozen years, New Rochelle has become one of New York’s swiftest-growing cities.
—Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
About a dozen spellers will advance to the finals, with the last two competitors facing off in a spell-off tiebreaker round.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for dozen
Cite this Entry
“Dozen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dozen. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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