Dress Definition
drĕs
dressed, dresses, dressing
verb
dressed, dresses, dressing
To put clothes on; clothe.
Webster's New World
To provide with clothing.
Webster's New World
To decorate; trim; adorn.
Webster's New World
To garnish.
Dressed the side dish with parsley.
American Heritage
To arrange a display in.
To dress a store window.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
noun
dresses
Clothes, clothing, or apparel, esp. as suitable for certain occasions [casual dress] or for a certain place or time.
Modern dress.
Webster's New World
Clothing; apparel.
American Heritage
An outer garment for women, having a skirt and usually made in one piece: formerly and traditionally the usual garment for women.
Webster's New World
Formal clothes.
Webster's New World
External covering or appearance.
Webster's New World
adjective
Of or for dresses.
Dress material.
Webster's New World
Worn on formal occasions.
A dress suit.
Webster's New World
Requiring formal clothes.
A dress occasion.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
idiom
dress ship
- To display the ensign, signal flags, and bunting on a ship.
American Heritage
dress down
- to scold severely; reprimand
- to wear casual clothes to an activity, job, etc. that ordinarily requires more formal dress
Webster's New World
dress ship
- to raise the ensign at each masthead and the flagstaff and, often, string signal flags over the mastheads from bow to stern
Webster's New World
dress up
- to dress in formal clothes, or in clothes more elegant, showy, etc. than one usually wears
- to improve the appearance of, as by decorating
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Dress
- dress ship
- dress down
- dress ship
- dress up
Origin of Dress
-
From Middle English, from Old French dresser, drescer, drecier (“to erect, set up, arrange, dress”), from Medieval Latin * directiare, an assumed frequentive, from Latin directus (“ straight, direct”), perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”).
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English dressen to arrange, put on clothing from Old French drecier to arrange from Vulgar Latin dīrēctiāre from Latin dīrēctus past participle of dīrigere to direct direct
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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