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dosser

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dosser¹

  • /ˈdɒsə(ɹ)/

Rhymes with -ɒsə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From doss + -er.

noun dossers

  1. Ireland, UK Someone who dosses, someone known for avoiding work. 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.

    Similar: shirker, bum, couch potato, dawdler, deadbeat, dogfucker, do-naught, do-nothing, dosser, idler, idleton, faineant

  2. 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 contro
  3. One who lodges in a doss-house.

dosser²

  • /ˈdɒsə(ɹ)/

Rhymes with -ɒsə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Late Latin dosserum, or French dossier (“bundle of papers, part of a basket resting on the back”), from Latin dorsum (“back”). See dorsal.

noun dossers · dorsel · dorser

  1. obsolete A pannier or basket. To hire a ripper's mare, and buy new dossers.
  2. obsolete A hanging tapestry; a dorsal.

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MLA

"dosser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dosser. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dosser. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dosser

Chicago

"dosser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dosser.

BibTeX
@misc{dosser_2026,
  title = {dosser},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dosser},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}