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Showing results for dress rehearsal. Search instead for Dress+rehearsal.
Synonyms

dress rehearsal

American  

noun

  1. a rehearsal of a play or other performance in costume and with scenery, properties, and lights arranged and operated as for a performance: often the final rehearsal.

dress rehearsal British  

noun

  1. the last complete rehearsal of a play or other work, using costumes, scenery, lighting, etc, as for the first night

  2. any full-scale practice

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dress rehearsal

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Nasa team said they were not going to attempt another so-called "wet dress rehearsal" once the rocket had been rolled out to the launchpad.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

The mishaps during a run-through that the US space agency calls a "wet dress rehearsal" dashed hopes that the mission around the Moon could launch as soon as Sunday.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Over the next several days, engineers and technicians will focus on readying Artemis II for a wet dress rehearsal.

From Science Daily • Jan. 19, 2026

Inside the Hollywood Palladium, the group — fresh-faced, high-spirited and dressed in their color-coordinated stagewear — held their final dress rehearsal last month.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

I took a saucer from the cabinet and returned to the living room as Margaret was saying, “Actually, Vivian, this is a very good time. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for the lawyers.”

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.