Meaning & use
dozed off
Last updated
UK/dəʊzd ɒf/
US/doʊzd ɔːf/
“dozed off” is a form of “doze off”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Past form of doze off: fell lightly asleep, usually without intending to.
Grammar: No object; often followed by during, in, or on: dozed off during the lecture.
Patterns
- dozed off during something
- dozed off in a chair
The baby dozed off in the stroller before we reached the bakery.
I dozed off during the second half of the documentary.
Common combinations
- dozed off during
- He dozed off during the long meeting after lunch.
- nearly dozed off
- She nearly dozed off at the wheel and pulled over to rest.
- dozed off in front of
- Grandpa dozed off in front of the chess board, mid-move.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nodded off
- Nodded off also means fell asleep briefly, often with the head dropping; very close to dozed off.
- drifted off
- Drifted off suggests a gentle gradual sleep; dozed off can be more sudden.
- conked out
- Conked out is more abrupt and very informal; it can also mean a machine failed.
Opposites
woke upstayed awake
Word family
Commonly confused: dozed off or dose off?
dozed off vs dose off
The correct verb is doze off; dose means a measured amount of medicine.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
“Doze off” is intransitive, so it cannot take the film as an object; “during the film” fits naturally.
Make it your own
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