dose: Meaning and Definition of

dose

Pronunciation: (dōs), [key]
— n., v., dosed, dos•ing.
—n.
  1. a quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken at one time.
  2. a substance, situation, or quantity of anything analogous to medicine, esp. of something disagreeable: Failing the exam was a hard dose to swallow.
  3. an amount of sugar added in the production of champagne.
    1. Also calledabsorbed dose.the quantity of ionizing radiation absorbed by a unit mass of matter, esp. living tissue: measured in gray or rad.
    2. Seeexposure dose.
  4. a case of gonorrhea or syphilis.
—v.t.
  1. to administer in or apportion for doses.
  2. to give a dose of medicine to.
  3. to add sugar to (champagne) during production.
—v.i.
  1. to take a dose of medicine.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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