dozen
n. countablen. a group or set of twelve things. You use this word when you want to count items like eggs or flowers in a specific group.
n. a group or set of twelve items. Often used as a collective noun to quantify specific goods or as an approximate plural to indicate a large but unspecified number.
I bought a dozen eggs at the market.
The baker packed a dozen fresh rolls into a paper bag for the customer.
While the recipe calls for exactly a dozen oysters, most chefs recommend purchasing a few extra to account for any that might be damaged during shucking.
From Middle English dozen, dozein, doseyne, from Old French dozaine (“a group of twelve”) (Modern French douzaine), from doze (“twelve”) + -aine (“-ish”), from Latin duodecim (“twelve”) (from duo (“two”) + decem (“ten”)) + -ana (“-ish”).
From a deliberate misspelling of doesn't, originally referring to someone who "dozen sing, dozen rap, dozen do anything."
When used with a specific number, it remains singular ('two dozen eggs'). When used to mean 'many', it is plural and takes 'of' ('dozens of people').
three dozens eggsthree dozen eggsWhen preceded by a specific number, 'dozen' functions as a quantifier and does not take a plural 's'.