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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.

He could get a dress rehearsal opening the batting for England Lions in two fixtures against South Africa A in May.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

The series served as a dress rehearsal for the 20-nation showpiece that Sri Lanka is co-hosting with India.

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

That was not unusual for a dress rehearsal, in Volpe’s experience, but also no cause for great optimism.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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.