dose
/ˈdoʊ̯s/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.20 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The quantity of an agent (not always active), substance, or radiation administered or experienced at any one time.
noun
A good measure or lengthy experience of something.
verb
To prescribe a dose.
Example Sentences
- "Why did he give you only a single 500 mg dose? The correct dosage of this antibiotic is one 500 mg tablet twice a day for 10 days."
- "Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese[…]began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death. Nowadays workers are exposed to far lower doses and manganism is rare."
- "a healthy dose of skepticism."
- "“I had then, as you remember, just returned to London after a lot of Indian Ocean, Pacific, China Seas - a regular dose of the East - six years or so, and I was loafing about, hindering you fellows in your work and invading your homes, just as though I had got a heavenly mission to civilise you.”"
- "The prospect of becoming a father is a dose of reality that threatens to bring his dream world crashing down."
- "People who don't get their daily dose of light at the right time of day can end up with worse health."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French dose, from Late Latin dosis, from Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “a portion prescribed”, literally “a giving”), used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine, from δίδωμι (dídōmi, “to give”). Mostly displaced English drench. Doublet of doos.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdoʊ̯s/
- British English: /ˈdəʊ̯s/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.