(drĕs)
verb dressed dressed,
dress·ing,
dress·es verb, transitivea. To put clothes on; clothe.
b. To furnish with clothing.
- To decorate or adorn: dress a Christmas tree.
- To garnish: dressed the side dish with parsley.
- To arrange a display in: dress a store window.
- To arrange (troops) in ranks; align.
- To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to (a wound).
- To arrange and groom (the hair), as by styling, combing, or washing.
- To groom (an animal); curry.
- To cultivate (land or plants).
- To clean (fish or fowl) for cooking or sale.
a. To put a finish on (stone or wood, for example).
b. To tan or prepare (a hide) in leather-making.
verb, intransitive- To put on clothes.
- To wear clothes of a certain kind or style: dresses casually.
- To wear formal clothes: dress for dinner.
- To get into proper alignment with others: The troops dressed on the squad leader.
noun- Clothing; apparel.
- A style of clothing: folk dancers in peasant dress.
- A one-piece outer garment for women or girls.
- Outer covering or appearance; guise: an ancient ritual in modern dress.
adjective- Suitable for formal occasions: dress shoes.
- Requiring formal clothes: a dress dinner.
Phrasal Verbs: dress down To scold; reprimand:
I was dressed down by the teacher for lateness. To wear informal clothes, befitting an occasion or location:
I dressed down for such a casual occasion. dress up To wear formal or fancy clothes:
They dressed up and went to the prom.Word History: A dress is such a common article of modern attire that it is difficult to imagine that the word
dress has not always referred to this garment. The earliest noun sense of
dress, recorded in a work written before 1450, was “speech, talk.” This
dress comes from the verb
dress, which goes back through Old French
drecier, “to arrange,” and the assumed Vulgar Latin
*dīrēctiāre to Latin
dīrēctus, a form of the verb
dīrigere, “to direct.” In accordance with its etymology, the verb
dress has meant and still means “to place,” “to arrange,” and “to put in order.” The sense “to clothe” is related to the notion of putting in order, specifically in regard to clothing. This verb sense then gave rise to the noun sense “personal attire” as well as to the specific garment sense. The earliest noun sense, “speech,” comes from a verb sense having to do with addressing or directing words to other people.
