half-dozen

American

[half-duhz-uhn, hahf-] / ˈhælfˈdʌz ən, ˈhɑf- /

noun

one half of a dozen; six.

adjective

considering six as a unit; consisting of six.

half-dozen British

determiner

(preceded by a)
1. six or a group of six
  
  a half-dozen roses
2. ( as pronoun; functioning as singular or plural )
  
  at least a half-dozen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of half-dozen

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On a bridge next to the Kremlin on a drizzly Friday morning, a lone Russian police officer stood looking at the half-dozen bunches of flowers laying in memory of slain opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.

From Barron's

For 15 hair-raising minutes, the pilots struggled to evade a half-dozen surface-to-air missiles, spraying countermeasures and executing a series of high-G maneuvers.

From The Wall Street Journal

At least a half-dozen state legislatures are debating bills that could stop new data centers from being built.

From Barron's

The administration has been considering new national-security tariffs on a half-dozen industries, including large-scale batteries and telecom equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Noonan’s half-dozen directing credits include the 1994 film “What Happened Was ...,” which was produced as a play, then became a movie and then won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023