Dosser
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Someone who dosses, someone known for avoiding work. British, Ireland
"Illustrating the strength of feeling, some said Dorries was “never here and is as useful as a chocolate teapot”, while “Dosser Dorries” posters appeared in the area."
- 2 A pannier or basket. obsolete
"To hire a ripper's mare, and buy new dossers."
- 3 someone who sleeps in any convenient place wordnet
- 4 A homeless and jobless person.
"Formerly they endeavoured to occupy all the seats, but the lynx-eyed Metropolitan Police declined to allow any such proceedings, and the dossers, knowing the invariable kindness of the City Police, made tracks for that portion of the Embankment which, lying east of the Temple, comes under the control of the Civic Fathers."
- 5 A hanging tapestry; a dorsal. obsolete
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- 6 One who lodges in a doss-house.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Illustrating the strength of feeling, some said Dorries was “never here and is as useful as a chocolate teapot”, while “Dosser Dorries” posters appeared in the area."
Etymology
From doss + -er.
Late Latin dosserum, or French dossier (“bundle of papers, part of a basket resting on the back”), from Latin dorsum (“back”). See dorsal.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.