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dress Definition

dress (dres)

transitive verb dressed or drest, dress′·ing

  1. to put clothes on; clothe
  2. to provide with clothing
  3. to decorate; trim; adorn
  4. to arrange a display in to dress a store window
  5. to arrange or do up (the hair)
  6. to arrange (troops) in a straight line or lines
  7. to apply medicines and bandages to (a wound, sore, etc.)
  8. to treat as required in preparing for use, grooming, etc.; esp.,
    1. to clean and eviscerate (a fowl, deer, etc.)
    2. to till, cultivate, or fertilize (fields or plants)
    3. to curry (a horse, leather, etc.)
    4. to smooth, finish, shape, etc. (stone, wood, etc.)

Etymology: ME dressen, to make straight, direct < OFr drecier, to set up, arrange < VL *directiare < L directus: see direct

intransitive verb

  1. to put on clothes; wear clothes
  2. to dress in formal clothes
  3. to get into a straight line or proper alignment: said of troops

noun

  1. clothes, clothing, or apparel, esp. as suitable for certain occasions [casual dress] or for a certain place or time modern dress
  2. an outer garment for women, having a skirt and usually made in one piece: formerly and traditionally the usual garment for women, now more often limited to somewhat formal occasions
  3. formal clothes
  4. external covering or appearance

adjective

  1. of or for dresses dress material
  2. worn on formal occasions a dress suit
  3. requiring formal clothes a dress occasion

dress Idioms

dress down

  1. to scold severely; reprimand
  2. to wear casual clothes to an activity, job, etc. that ordinarily requires more formal dress

dress ship

to raise the ensign at each masthead and the flagstaff and, often, string signal flags over the mastheads from bow to stern

dress up

  1. to dress in formal clothes, or in clothes more elegant, showy, etc. than one usually wears
  2. to improve the appearance of, as by decorating

dress Synonyms

dress

n.

  1. Clothing

    attire, apparel, formal dress, toilette; see clothes.

  2. A woman's outer garment

    frock, basic black dress, gown, jumper, sheath, cocktail dress, evening gown, ball gown, formal*, wedding gown, suit*, skirt*, tunic*, robe*, sun dress, tank dress, shirtwaist dress, shift*, sack*, sweater dress*, strapless*, wraparound*, sari*, muumuu*, toga*, cheongsam*, housedress*, smock*, sarong*, housecoat; see also clothes.

dress Synonyms

dress

v.

  1. To put on clothes

    don, put on, wear, garb, clothe, change clothes, robe, attire, apparel, costume, drape, array, cover, wrap up, get into, fit into, try on, slip on, slip into, throw on, fix up, spruce up, dress up, overdress, muffle up, bundle up, deck, deck out, doll up*, trick out*, tog up*, underdress*, dress down; see also clothe, dress up, wear 1.

  2. To provide with clothes

    costume, outfit, fit out; see clothe, provide 1.

  3. To make ready for show or use

    groom, adorn, ornament, make ready; see decorate, prepare 1, trim 2.

  4. To give medical treatment

    attend, treat, bandage, cleanse, sterilize, cauterize, give first aid, bind, apply a surgical dressing, apply antiseptics, apply medication, plaster, sew up, remove stitches; see also heal 1.

dress Usage Examples

Object

  • gown: Tuesday May 13, 2003 The Guardian Does anybody give a damn whether or not judges continue to dress up in red dressing gowns?
  • room: They find him in the dressing room, still in his gear, sat with his head in his hands.

Converse of object

wear: Ladies can wear long dresses or smart trousers with top.

Adjective modifier

  • fancy: The girls turned out in fine form wearing all sorts of fancy dress from big pants to cowboy hats.
  • casual: An apron, overall or casual dress which may get dirty.

Modifies a noun

  • rehearsal: He did a dress rehearsal, which was open in the morning.
  • code: The dress code is ' casual elegance ' , which boils down to no shorts, jeans or T-shirts in the evenings.

Noun used with modifier

  • wedding: Re: my wedding dress shop has gone bankrupt!
  • bridesmaid: Unfortunately, only the bride and bridesmaids dresses and hired wedding attire is covered.
  • prom: American style prom dresses now previewing for spring 2007.
  • cocktail: Some SEC Black Tie events are less strict e.g. cocktail dress would be fine.
  • silk: The women meanwhile, mother, sisters, lovers, friends, wife, wore flowing velvet and silk dresses.
  • bride: Nice touch Grooms might want to wear a waistcoat matching the fabric of the brides wedding dress.

Infinitive complement

impress: Entry is only £ 10 and guests should dress to impress!

Preposition: in

  • robe: At the far end of the rows of neatly planted fruit bushes a tall figure dressed in a plain brown robe beckoned him.
  • costume: The cast even shows up dressed in the costumes of " The Wizard of Oz " during the grand finale!
  • clothes: On the right panel is a group of townspeople, dressed casually in summer clothes, with several people holding fans.
  • uniform: The aristocrat might once have had footmen dressed in absurd uniforms, rendering them wholly useless.
  • garb: In July 2003, dressed in similar garb, he ran on to the Silverstone track at the British Grand Prix.
  • rag: He saw his friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.

Browse dictionary entries near dress

  1. ‹ Dresden
  2. ‹ Drennan,William
  3. ‹ drench
  4. ‹ Dreiser
  5. ‹ dreidel
  6. ‹ dregs
  7. ‹ dreggy
  8. ‹ dree
  9. ‹ dredge up
  10. ‹ dredge
  1. dress circle ›
  2. dress code ›
  3. dress-down ›
  4. dress parade ›
  5. dress rehearsal ›
  6. dress shield ›
  7. dress suit ›
  8. dress uniform ›
  9. dress up ›
  10. dressage ›