dress

[ dres ]

noun

1. an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.

   Synonyms: frock

2. clothing; apparel; garb:

   The dress of the 18th century was colorful.

   Synonyms: habiliments, vestments, garments, habit, clothes, attire, raiment

3. formal attire.
4. a particular form of appearance; guise.
5. outer covering, as the plumage of birds.

adjective

1. of or for a dress or dresses.
2. of or for a formal occasion.
3. requiring formal dress.

verb (used with object)

, dressed or (Obsolete) drest, dress·ing.

1. to put clothing upon.

   Synonyms: garb, robe, clothe

2. to put formal or evening clothes on.
3. to trim; ornament; adorn:

   to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.

4. to design clothing for or sell clothes to.
5. to comb out and do up (hair).
6. to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often followed by out when referring to a large animal):

   We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.

7. to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.
8. to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).
9. to make straight; bring (troops) into line:

   to dress ranks.

10. to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.
11. to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).
12. Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.
13. to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.:

    The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.

14. Angling.
    1. to prepare or bait (a fishhook) for use.
    2. to prepare (bait, especially an artificial fly) for use.
15. Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
16. to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.:

    to have one's new car fully dressed.

verb (used without object)

, dressed or (Obsolete,) drest, dress·ing.

1. to clothe or attire oneself; put on one's clothes:

   Wake up and dress, now!

2. to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes:

   to dress for dinner.

3. to come into line, as troops.
4. to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line.

verb phrase

1. 1. to reprimand; scold.
   2. to thrash; beat.
   3. to dress informally or less formally:

      to dress down for the shipboard luau.

2. 1. to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally:

      They were dressed up for the Easter parade.

   2. to dress in costume or in another person's clothes:

      to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette.

   3. to embellish or disguise, especially in order to make more appealing or acceptable:

      to dress up the facts with colorful details.

dress

/ drɛs /

verb

1. to put clothes on (oneself or another); attire
2. intr
   1. to change one's clothes
   2. to wear formal or evening clothes
3. tr to provide (someone) with clothing; clothe
4. tr to arrange merchandise in (a shop window) for effective display
5. tr to comb out or arrange (the hair) into position
6. tr to apply protective or therapeutic covering to (a wound, sore, etc)
7. tr to prepare (food, esp fowl and fish) for cooking or serving by cleaning, trimming, gutting, etc
8. tr to put a finish on (the surface of stone, metal, etc)
9. tr to till and cultivate (land), esp by applying manure, compost, or fertilizer
10. tr to prune and trim (trees, bushes, etc)
11. tr to groom (an animal, esp a horse)
12. tr to convert (tanned hides) into leather
13. archaic.
    tr to spay or neuter (an animal)
14. angling to tie (a fly)
15. military to bring (troops) into line or (of troops) to come into line (esp in the phrase dress ranks )
16. dress ship
    nautical to decorate a vessel by displaying all signal flags on lines run from the bow to the stern over the mast trucks

noun

1. a one-piece garment for a woman, consisting of a skirt and bodice
2. complete style of clothing; costume

   formal dress

   military dress

3. modifier suitable or required for a formal occasion

   a dress shirt

4. the outer covering or appearance, esp of living things

   trees in their spring dress of leaves

Other Words From

• half-dressed adjective
• outdress verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of dress¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English dressen, from Anglo-French dresser, dresc(i)er, “to arrange, prepare,” Old French drecier, from unattested Vulgar Latin dīrēctiāre, derivative of Latin dīrēctus direct; noun use of verb in sense “attire” from circa 1600

Word History and Origins

Origin of dress¹

C14: from Old French drecier, ultimately from Latin dīrigere to direct

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. dress ship,
   1. to decorate a ship by hoisting lines of flags running its full length.
   2. U.S. Navy. to display the national ensigns at each masthead and a larger ensign on the flagstaff.

Synonym Study

Dress, costume, gown refer to garments for women. Dress is the general term for a garment: a black dress. Costume is used of the style of dress appropriate to some occasion, purpose, period, or character, especially as used on the stage, at balls, at court, or the like, and may apply to men's garments as well: an 18th-century costume. Gown is usually applied to a dress more expensive and elegant than the ordinary, usually long, to be worn on a special occasion: a wedding gown.

Example Sentences

Eliava, in contrast, was a mischievous charmer who pranked his friends, once dressing as a woman to flirt with d’Hérelle at a dinner party, and kept sketchy notes in the lab.

From Salon

“When I was 6, 7, 8 years old, I used to dress up as Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills during the halftime shows,” he recalls.

From Los Angeles Times

The fluffy dresses and elaborate dances are about romanticizing a dehumanizing view of women, in which they are male property, whose only value is in being a sex object.

From Salon

Images from Carpenter's video show a crucifix with profanity printed on it and also Carpenter dancing on the altar in a short black dress.

From BBC

But for the song to work its magic in the musical, Albin’s interior life must poke through the makeup, dresses and temperamental diva histrionics.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apparel
• attire
• costume
• ensemble
• frock
• garb
• gown
• robe
• skirt
• smock
• suit
• uniform
• wardrobe

More About Dress

What does dress mean?

A dress is a piece of clothing made up of a blouse and skirt in one piece.

Dress can also refer to any formal attire, as in We’ve decided the wedding will be informal dress, with shorts and sneakers allowed.

Dress can refer to clothing in general, especially for a specific group of people or time period, as in Men’s dress from the 1800s included top hats and greatcoats.

To dress means to put clothes on or prepare for an event involving formal clothing, as in While pajamas are comfy, you do have to get dressed for school, you know.

As an adjective, dress almost always refers to clothes thought to be fancy or formal, such as dress pants or dress shoes. Fancy dress usually means a costume for a ball or masquerade, however.

Example: The event got cancelled right after I finished getting dressed for it.

Where does dress come from?

The first records of the verb dress come from the late 1200s. It comes from the

Old French drecier and may come from the Latin dīrēctus, meaning “direct.” The first records of the noun dress meaning “attire” come from the 1600s.

Dress usually refers to the one piece blouse-and-skirt item traditionally worn by girls and women, but it can also refer to many types of clothing such as costumes, disguises, uniforms, or outfits.

As a verb dress can also mean to prepare raw materials through several processes, such as turning lumber into treated wood or cotton into fabric. In the military, to dress can refer to straightening a line, and in medicine it can mean to treat a wound with cloth. In entertainment, to dress is to decorate a set or stage for actors to perform on.

Dressing something can mean completely different things, but all the definitions relate to direct or prepare, making dress a very useful term.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to dress?

• half-dressed (adjective)
• undressed (adjective)
• dressing (noun, verb)
• outdress (verb)
• dresser (noun)

What are some synonyms for dress?

• attire
• frock
• treat
• clothe
• groom

What are some words that share a root or word element with dress?

• dress code
• dressage
• dress coat
• dressing room

What are some words that often get used in discussing dress?

• adorn
• line
• pants
• skirt
• ship
• wardrobe

How is dress used in real life?

Dress is a very common word with many meanings.

Just had dress run of performance! Soo excited about it! Hope u guys like it! Keep voting guys ! Best vid and best new artist! Love u!

— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) September 6, 2012

Dress is black & blue. just sayin

— michael clifford on tour (@Michael5SOS) February 27, 2015

on my Halloween show, everybody dress like me so we can all take one big picture together

— twelve carat toothache (@PostMalone) October 10, 2017

 

Try using dress!

Is dress used correctly in the following sentence?

Val dressed for the first day of school in their favorite outfit.