dos|ser /dɒ sə r / (dossers ) N‑COUNT A dosser is a city person who does not have a permanent home and sleeps in the streets or in very cheap hotels. [BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
do ss-house (doss-houses ) also doss house , dosshouse N‑COUNT A doss-house is a kind of cheap hotel in a city for people who have no home and very little money. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] in AM, use flophouse
dos|si|er /dɒ sie I , -iə r / (dossiers ) N‑COUNT A dossier is a collection of papers containing information on a particular event, or on a person such as a criminal or a spy. □ [+ of/on ] The company is compiling a dossier of evidence to back its allegations.
dost /dʌ st/ Dost is an old-fashioned second person singular form of the verb 'do'.
dot /dɒ t/ (dots , dotting , dotted )
1 N‑COUNT A dot is a very small round mark, for example one that is used as the top part of the letter 'i', as a full stop, or as a decimal point.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to something that you can see in the distance and that looks like a small round mark as a dot . □ Soon they were only dots above the hard line of the horizon.
3 VERB When things dot a place or an area, they are scattered or spread all over it. □ [V n] Small coastal towns dot the landscape.
4 → see also dotted , polka dots
5 PHRASE If you arrive somewhere or do something on the dot , you arrive there or do it at exactly the time that you were supposed to. □ They appeared on the dot of 9.50 pm as always.
6 PHRASE If you say that someone dots the i's and crosses the t's , you mean that they pay great attention to every small detail in a task; often used to express your annoyance because such detailed work seems unnecessary and takes a very long time.
dot|age /doʊ t I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT [usu poss N ] If someone is in their dotage , they are very old and becoming weak. □ Even in his dotage, the Professor still sits on the committee.
do t-co m (dot-coms ) N‑COUNT A dot-com is a company that does all or most of its business on the internet. □ …the first company to register as a dot-com.
dote /doʊ t/ (dotes , doting , doted ) VERB If you say that someone dotes on a person or a thing, you mean that they love or care about them very much and ignore any faults they may have. □ [V + on/upon ] He dotes on his nine-year-old son.
doth /dʌ θ/ Doth is an old-fashioned third person singular form of the verb 'do'.
dot|ing /doʊ t I ŋ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you say that someone is, for example, a doting mother, husband, or friend, you mean that they show a lot of love for someone. □ His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.
dot|ted /dɒ t I d/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A dotted line is a line which is made of a row of dots. □ Cut along the dotted line. ● PHRASE If you sign on the dotted line , you formally agree to something by signing an official document. □ Once you sign on the dotted line you are committed to that property.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ + with ] If a place or object is dotted with things, it has many of those things scattered over its surface. □ The maps were dotted with the names of small towns.
3 ADJ If things are dotted around a place, they can be found in many different parts of that place. □ Many pieces of sculpture are dotted around the house.
4 → see also dot
dot|ty /dɒ ti/ (dottier , dottiest ) ADJ If you say that someone is dotty , you mean that they are slightly mad or likely to do strange things. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ She was obviously going a bit dotty.
dou|ble ◆◆◇ /dʌ b ə l/ (doubles , doubling , doubled )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use double to indicate that something includes or is made of two things of the same kind. □ …a pair of double doors into the room from the new entrance hall. □ …a lone skier gliding along smooth double tracks.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use double before a singular noun to refer to two things of the same type that occur together, or that are connected in some way. □ …an extremely nasty double murder.
3 PREDET If something is double the amount or size of another thing, it is twice as large. □ The offer was to start a new research laboratory at double the salary he was then getting. ● PRON Double is also a pronoun. □ If they think you're a tourist, they charge you double.
4 ADJ You use double to describe something which is twice the normal size or can hold twice the normal quantity of something. □ …a double helping of ice cream. □ …a large double garage.
5 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A double room is a room intended for two people, usually a couple, to stay or live in. □ …bed and breakfast for £180 for two people in a double room. ● N‑COUNT Double is also a noun. □ The Great Western Hotel costs around £60 a night for a double.
6 ADJ [ADJ n] A double bed is a bed that is wide enough for two people to sleep in.
7 ADJ [ADJ n] You use double to describe a drink that is twice the normal measure. □ He was drinking his double whiskey too fast and scowling. ● N‑COUNT Double is also a noun. □ Give me a whisky, a double.
8 ADJ [ADJ n] Double is used when you are spelling a word or telling someone a number to show that a letter or digit is repeated. □ Ring four two double two double two if you'd like to speak to our financial adviser.