dose

American  

[dohs] / doʊs /

noun

1. a quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken at one time.

2. a substance, situation, or quantity of anything analogous to medicine, especially of something disagreeable.

   Failing the exam was a hard dose to swallow.

3. an amount of sugar added in the production of champagne.

4. Physics.

   1. Also called absorbed dose.  the quantity of ionizing radiation absorbed by a unit mass of matter, especially living tissue, measured in grays: although increasingly disfavored, in the U.S. an absorbed dose may still be measured in rads.

   2. exposure dose.

5. Slang. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.

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verb (used with object)

dosed, dosing

1. to administer in or apportion for doses.

2. to give a dose of medicine to.

3. to add sugar to (champagne) during production.

verb (used without object)

dosed, dosing

1. to take a dose of medicine.

dose British  

/ dəʊs /

noun

1. med a specific quantity of a therapeutic drug or agent taken at any one time or at specified intervals

2. informal something unpleasant to experience

   a dose of influenza

3. Also called: dosage.  the total energy of ionizing radiation absorbed by unit mass of material, esp of living tissue; usually measured in grays (SI unit) or rads

4. Also called: dosage.  a small amount of syrup added to wine, esp sparkling wine, when the sediment is removed and the bottle is corked

5. slang a venereal infection, esp gonorrhoea

6. very quickly indeed

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verb

1. to administer a dose or doses to (someone)

2. med to give (a therapeutic drug or agent) in appropriate quantities

3. (often foll by up) to give (someone, esp oneself) drugs, medicine, etc, esp in large quantities

4. to add syrup to (wine) during bottling

Other Word Forms

• doser noun
• superdose noun
• underdose noun
• well-dosed adjective

Etymology

Origin of dose

First recorded in 1590–1600; French , from Late Latin dosis, from Greek dósis “a giving, gift,” derivative of didónai “to give”

Example Sentences

The flash memory company has benefited from soaring memory costs and a healthy dose of investor hype, which it validated by crushing earnings estimates in January.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

In late-stage clinical trials, Foundayo, which is also called orforglipron, helped people lose between 7.8% and 12.4% of their body weight after 72 weeks, depending on the dose.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

I see how using the term cure can offer myeloma patients a powerful dose of that medicine, and I see the case for closure.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

"If you're taking a high dose antioxidant, you could be diminishing your reproductive fitness and part of the journey toward the bad outcome is going to be the effects on the offspring."

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

Some of the rules had a double dose of Nan and only a sprinkle of me.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• application
• dosage
• lot
• measure
• measurement
• prescription
• quantity
• shot