English · Word Candidate

DoS

/diː oː ˈɛs/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: DoSes · DoSing · DoSed

Sense 1

Meaning · English

A denial-of-service attack.

Noun

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

To commit a denial-of-service attack against.

Verb

Examples

In addition to out-of-spec traffic, malicious packets can contain payloads that cause a system to crash. A packet's payload is taken as input into a service. If the input is not properly checked, the application can be DoSed.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

A Director of Studies; someone who oversees the scholarly aspects of an institution, including faculty development and curriculum design.

Noun

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “DoS” mean?

A denial-of-service attack.

Is “DoS” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.