doses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of dose.

   The pharmacist split the prescription into evenly measured doses.

   Missing two doses in a row can reduce how well the treatment works.

   Note

   The plural counts portions one at a time, which is why it suits schedules and measurement: daily doses of a drug, repeated doses of radiation. The word's figurative and colloquial uses carry over too. In Irish colloquial speech a dose is a cold, so doses can mean several colds. The same spelling is also the verb form, as in she doses the patient, and the words around it show which one is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of dose.

   The vet carefully doses the medication according to the animal's size.

   The system automatically doses chlorine into the pool water.

   Note

   Its usual object is whoever receives the drug, as in the vet doses the dog, though the substance can take that slot too, as with chlorine dosed into water. A darker transitive use means secretly giving an incapacitating drug to someone unwilling, close to roofie, so context matters. In archaic writing, doses can also simply be dozes, the verb for light sleep, which has nothing to do with medicine.

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