Standard Lemma guide

doss

adj · name · noun · verb · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɒs/
  • cot-caught-merger: /dɑs/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒs
  • rhymes with -ɔːs
  • /bɔs/
  • CMU ARPABET: D AO1 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Useless or lazy. Generally combined with expletive noun, especially cunt.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland, not-comparable

Examples

  • Get a hauld o yersel, ya doss cunt!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Good, desirable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland, not-comparable

Examples

  • The place is pure doss, like.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

name

Meaning 3

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The avoidance of work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, countable, slang, uncountable

Examples

  • I am going to have a doss tomorrow.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

An easy piece of work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, countable, slang, uncountable

Examples

  • Circumnavigating the world in a canoe is no doss.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A place to sleep in; a bed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, countable, dated, slang, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Sleep.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, broadly, countable, dated, slang, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

Abbreviation of dioctyl sulfosuccinate/dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable

Topics: medicine, pharmacology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

plural of DoS

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, plural

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To avoid work, shirk, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, intransitive

Examples

  • I am going to doss tomorrow when the match is on.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To sleep, especially in the open or in a makeshift bed, commonly in a derelict building because one is homeless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, UK, intransitive, slang

Examples

  • I normally have to doss in shop doorways or on park benches.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

sleep in a convenient place

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • You can crash here, though it's not very comfortable

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doss down, crash

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bed down, bunk down

History

Etymology

Perhaps from Latin dorsum (“the back”), i.e. what one lies on when sleeping; perhaps from English dialect doss (“a hassock”).

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: nocovat (nouzově) — sleep in the open
  • Czech: spát — sleep in the open
  • Czech: uložit se (k spánku) — sleep in the open
  • Czech: přespávat — sleep in the open