# doze

> English word · Verb · IPA /doʊz/ · frequency rank #44,749

## Definitions
1. To sleep lightly or briefly; to nap, snooze.
2. To make dull; to stupefy.

## Etymology
From Middle English *dosen, from Old Norse dúsa (“to doze, rest, remain quiet”), from Proto-Germanic *dusāną (“to be dizzy”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰews- (“to fly, whirl”), from *dʰew- (“to fly, shake, reek, steam, smolder”).
Cognate with Old Frisian dusia (“to be dizzy”), German Low German dösen (“to doze”), German dösen (“to doze”), Danish døse (“to doze”), dialectal Swedish dusa (“to doze, slumber”), Icelandic dúsa (“to doze”), Old English dysiġ (“foolish, stupid”), Scots dosnit (“stunned, stupefied”), Icelandic dúra (“to nap, slumber”), also compare Dutch doezelen (“to doze”). More at dizzy.

## Easily confused with
- **due** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-due)
- **dye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dye)
- **Dre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dre)
- **dude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dude)
- **duke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-duke)
- **dyke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dyke)
- **dune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dune)
- **dupe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dupe)
- **drove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-drove)
- **dozen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dozen)
- **drone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-drone)
- **Druze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-druze)
- **dozens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doze-vs-dozens)
- **do** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/do-vs-doze)
- **de** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/de-vs-doze)
- **dog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dog-vs-doze)
- **die** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/die-vs-doze)
- **don** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/don-vs-doze)
- **doc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/doc-vs-doze)
- **dot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dot-vs-doze)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ddoze`, `doez`, `dozze`, `dzoe`, `odze`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/doze