dossier

noun

dos·sier ˈdȯs-ˌyā

ˈdäs-;

ˈdȯ-sē-ˌā,

ˈdä-

: a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject

the patient's medical dossier

Police began compiling a dossier on him.

Did you know?

Gather together various documents relating to the affairs of a certain individual, sort them into separate folders, label the spine of each folder, and arrange the folders in a box. Dossier, the French word for such a compendium of spine-labeled folders, was picked up by English speakers in the 19th century. It comes from dos, the French word for "back." The verb endorse (which originally meant "to write on the back of") and the rare adjective addorsed ("set or turned back to back," a term primarily used in heraldry) are also derived, via the Anglo-French endosser and French adosser respectively, from dos. The French dos has its origins in the Latin dorsum, a word which also gave English the adjective dorsal ("situated on the back"), as in "the dorsal fin of a whale."

Examples of dossier in a Sentence

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The ethics investigation — details of which have been leaking out in a steady drip since his nomination last week — was only the most salacious aspect of his dossier. —

Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024 The dossier of evidence shows Trump apparently trying to persuade RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel of his bogus election fraud claims in mid-December 2020. —

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024 Both background dossiers and traditional background checks, however, must meet the same FCRA standards for accuracy, consent, and transparency. —

Alonzo Martinez, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 Klippenstein’s report on the dossier remains posted to his Substack account. —

Emily Hallas, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dossier