A dosage is the specific amount of medicine or another substance that someone should take at one time or over a period of time. When a doctor prescribes medication, they carefully calculate the right dosage based on factors like a patient's age, weight, and the severity of their illness. Too little might not help, while too much could be harmful.

You'll see dosage instructions on medicine bottles: “Take two tablets every six hours” or “One teaspoon twice daily.” These instructions tell you both how much to take (the amount) and how often to take it (the schedule). Following the correct dosage matters because medicines are powerful substances that need to work in precise ways inside your body.

While dosage most commonly refers to medicine, people sometimes use it more broadly. A coach might talk about players needing “a healthy dosage of practice,” or a teacher might assign “a daily dosage of math problems.” In these cases, they're borrowing the medical meaning to suggest a measured, regular amount of something helpful.