What does dossier mean?
Word: Dossier
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Dossier means a collection of papers giving detailed information about a person or subject.
How do you spell dossier?
Syllables: dos - si - er
Tricky part: The end looks nothing like it sounds. We say it with an ay, the French way, but the written word finishes in ier.
Watch out for: dossie, dossiay
Memory tip: When you write it, say the end in your head as ee-er, even though the real sound is ay. Your hand will then put down all three letters.
Dossier in a sentence
Example 1: The agency prepared a dossier on each hotel before the school trip.
Example 2: Ananya's science dossier included photographs, graphs and notes.
Example 3: The editor read through a bulky dossier on the town's old forts.
Fun Fact
It comes from the French word for back, because a bundle of papers once carried its label on the back.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Before the scholarship interview, Neha and her mother prepared a neat dosier of all her certificates and project reports.
a) certificates
b) scholarship
c) reports
d) dosier
Show answer
d) dosier. Two s's stand in the middle, as in lesson.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose it:
The secretary handed over a thick siseord just before the meeting began.
a) dresser
b) courier
c) cashier
d) dossier
Show answer
d) dossier. An o, an i and two s's: no rival has them all.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to dossier as used in the sentence:
The librarian keeps a dossier on each author who visits the school.
a) file
b) notice
c) lesson
d) speech
Show answer
a) file. A folder of papers on someone is what the librarian keeps.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. dossier 2. manuscript 3. archive 4. documantary
a) a bundle of reports on one topic
b) an author's original handwritten text
c) a film or show giving facts about a real subject
d) a place where old records are stored
Show answer
c) a film or show giving facts about a real subject. Documentary has e before the n.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why might a college ask a student for a dossier of her art projects?
a) to choose the colour of new uniforms
b) to fix the date of her next holiday
c) to check how far she lives from college
d) to judge her skill from several samples
Show answer
d) to judge her skill from several samples
2. What would you most expect inside a dossier on a new bridge?
a) a song written in its honour
b) a model of it made of paper
c) plans, surveys and letters about it
d) a ticket for crossing it
Show answer
c) plans, surveys and letters about it
