dose

/doʊs/

/dəʊs/

Other forms: doses; dosed; dosing

A dose is the amount of medicine you're supposed to take. A bottle of aspirin has the recommended dose printed on its side.

When your doctor prescribes medication, she tells you what dose you should take, whether it's one pill twice a day or two teaspoons just before bedtime. You can also get a dose of something else: having x-rays gives you a small dose of radiation, for example, and watching the news instead of your favorite cartoon can be said to give you a dose of reality. The Greek root of dose is dosis, "a portion prescribed."

Definitions of dose

1. noun

   a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
   synonyms: dosage

   types:

   booster, booster dose, booster shot, recall dose

   an additional dose that makes sure the first dose was effective

   draft, draught

   a dose of liquid medicine

   hit

   a dose of a narcotic drug

   lethal dose

   the size dose that will cause death

   lozenge, pill, tab, tablet

   a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet

   bolus

   a large pill; used especially in veterinary medicine

   capsule

   a pill in the form of a small rounded gelatinous container with medicine inside

   dragee

   pill that is a sugar-coated medicated candy

   sleeping capsule, sleeping draught, sleeping pill, sleeping tablet

   a soporific drug in the form of a pill (or tablet or capsule)

   type of:

   medicament, medication, medicinal drug, medicine

   (medicine) something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease
2. noun

   the quantity of an active agent (substance or radiation) taken in or absorbed at any one time
   synonyms: dosage

   type of:

   indefinite quantity

   an estimated quantity
3. verb

   treat with an agent; add (an agent) to
   “The ray dosed the paint”

   type of:

   process, treat

   subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition
4. verb

   administer a drug to
   synonyms: drug

   types:

   anaesthetise, anaesthetize, anesthetise, anesthetize, put out, put under

   administer an anesthetic drug to

   dope, dope up

   give a narcotic to

   o.d., overdose

   dose too heavily

   narcotise, narcotize

   administer narcotics to

   poison

   administer poison to

   etherise, etherize

   anesthetize with ether

   chloroform

   anesthetize with chloroform

   freeze

   anesthetize by cold

   soup

   dope (a racehorse)

   intoxicate

   have an intoxicating effect on, of a drug

   block

   interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia

   type of:

   medicate, medicine

   treat medicinally, treat with medicine
5. noun

   street name for lysergic acid diethylamide
6. noun

   a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact
   synonyms: Cupid's disease, Cupid's itch, STD, VD, Venus's curse, sexually transmitted disease, social disease, venereal disease, venereal infection

   types:

   genital herpes, herpes genitalis

   an infection caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) that is usually transmitted by sexual contact; marked by recurrent attacks of painful eruptions on the skin and mucous membranes of the genital area

   clap, gonorrhea, gonorrhoea

   a common venereal disease caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae; symptoms are painful urination and pain around the urethra

   granuloma inguinale, granuloma venereum

   a venereal disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Calymmatobacterium; characterized by a pimply rash of the skin in the genital and groin region

   lues, lues venerea, pox, syph, syphilis

   a common venereal disease caused by the treponema pallidum spirochete; symptoms change through progressive stages; can be congenital (transmitted through the placenta)

   LGV, lymphogranuloma venereum, lymphopathia venereum

   infectious disease caused by a species of chlamydia bacterium; transmitted by sexual contact; characterized by genital lesions and swelling of lymph nodes in the groin

   chlamydia

   a sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria of the genus Chlamydia

   primary syphilis

   the first stage; characterized by a chancre at the site of infection

   secondary syphilis

   the second stage; characterized by eruptions of the skin and mucous membrane

   tertiary syphilis

   the third stage; characterized by involvement of internal organs especially the brain and spinal cord as well as the heart and liver

   neurosyphilis

   syphilis of the central nervous system

   type of:

   contagion, contagious disease

   any disease easily transmitted by contact