Meanings
- idiomaticuncommonEleven.
George counted eleven of them. A banker's dozen, he said to himself.
2009, Ben Bova, The Precipice, →ISBN4 more examples
Not a low baker's dozen, you will perceive, but two high banker's dozen !
1899, The Arena - Volume 21, page 195There were 11 in number (a reference has been made to them as constituting a banker's dozen), representing the following organizations :
1960, United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Small Business, Small Business Problems in Food DistributionIt concludes with a banker's dozen of 11 items labeled "What to Read" — a well chosen list on the urban, technological disruption of man's life and the earth's biosphere.
1968, JOH, Journal of Housing - Volume 25, page 432Caroline arranged to have appear at her concert a banker's dozen (eleven) of New York's most admired amateur and professional musicians, including the alluring divorcee Fanny Ronalds, who — it was rumored — was accomplished in arts more erotic than the one she would demonstrate that night.
1981, David Black, The King of Fifth Avenue: the fortunes of August Belmont, page 240
Origin
A play on the phrase baker's dozen; it is one less than a dozen as compared to one more. See also bankers' hours.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
banker's dozen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banker's%20dozen
“banker's dozen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banker's%20dozen. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “banker's dozen,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/banker's%20dozen.
Source: banker's dozen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.