dress
♦♦ dress /dr'es/ (dresses dressing dressed)
1 [N-COUNT]
A dress is a piece of clothing worn by a woman or girl. It covers her body and part of her legs.
She was wearing a black dress.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
You can refer to clothes worn by men or women as dress.
He's usually smart in his dress.
...hundreds of Cambodians in traditional dress.
see also evening dress, fancy dress, morning dress, morning dress
3 [VERB] V, V pron-refl
When you dress or dress yourself, you put on clothes.
He told Sarah to wait while he dressed...
Sue had dressed herself neatly for work.
4 [VERB] V n
If you dress someone, for example a child, you put clothes on them.
She bathed her and dressed her in clean clothes.
5 [VERB] V in n
If someone dresses in a particular way, they wear clothes of a particular style or colour.
He dresses in a way that lets everyone know he's got authority...
6 [VERB] V for n
If you dress for something, you put on special clothes for it.
We don't dress for dinner here.
7 [VERB] V n
When someone dresses a wound, they clean it and cover it.
The poor child never cried or protested when I was dressing her wounds.
8 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If you dress a salad, you cover it with a mixture of oil, vinegar, and herbs or flavourings.
Scatter the tomato over, then dress the salad.
...a bowl of dressed salad.
9
see also dressing, dressedcock|tail dress (cocktail dresses)
[N-COUNT]
A cocktail dress is a dress that is suitable for formal social occasions.dress cir|cle
[N-SING]
The dress circle is the lowest of the curved rows of seats upstairs in a theatre.dress code (dress codes)
[N-COUNT]
The dress code of a place is the rules about what kind of clothes people are allowed to wear there.
There is a strict dress code: no trainers or jeans.dress down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you dress down, you wear clothes that are less smart than usual.
She dresses down in baggy clothes to avoid hordes of admirers.dress re|hears|al (dress rehearsals)
1 [N-COUNT]
The dress rehearsal of a play, opera, or show is the final rehearsal before it is performed, in which the performers wear their costumes and the lights and scenery are all used as they will be in the performance.
2 [N-COUNT]
You can describe an event as a dress rehearsal for a later, more important event when it indicates how the later event will be.
These elections, you could almost say, are a dress rehearsal for the real elections.dress sense
[N-UNCOUNT]
Someone's dress sense is their ability to choose clothes that make them look attractive.
I've no dress sense at all...dress shirt (dress shirts)
[N-COUNT]
A dress shirt is a special shirt which men wear on formal occasions. It is worn with a dinner jacket and bow tie.dress up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P in/as n
If you dress up or dress yourself up, you put on different clothes, in order to make yourself look smarter than usual or to disguise yourself.
You do not need to dress up for dinner...
Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If you dress someone up, you give them special clothes to wear, in order to make them look smarter or to disguise them.
Mother loved to dress me up.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you dress something up, you try to make it seem more attractive, acceptable, or interesting than it really is.
Politicians dress up their ruthless ambition as a pursuit of the public good...
However you dress it up, a bank only exists to lend money.
4
see also dressed up, dressing-upeve|ning dress (evening dresses)
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Evening dress consists of the formal clothes that people wear to formal occasions in the evening.
2 [N-COUNT]
An evening dress is a special dress, usually a long one, that a woman wears to a formal occasion in the evening.fan|cy dress
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Fancy dress is clothing that you wear for a party at which everyone tries to look like a famous person or a person from a story, from history, or from a particular profession.
Guests were told to come in fancy dress...full dress
[N-UNCOUNT]
Someone who is in full dress is wearing all the clothes needed for a ceremony or formal occasion.morn|ing dress
[N-UNCOUNT]
Morning dress is a suit that is worn by men for very formal occasions such as weddings. It consists of a grey or black coat that is longer at the back than the front, grey trousers, a white shirt, a grey tie, and often a top hat.wed|ding dress (wedding dresses)
[N-COUNT]
A wedding dress is a special dress that a woman wears at her wedding.
1 [N-COUNT]
A dress is a piece of clothing worn by a woman or girl. It covers her body and part of her legs.
She was wearing a black dress.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
You can refer to clothes worn by men or women as dress.
He's usually smart in his dress.
...hundreds of Cambodians in traditional dress.
see also evening dress, fancy dress, morning dress, morning dress
3 [VERB] V, V pron-refl
When you dress or dress yourself, you put on clothes.
He told Sarah to wait while he dressed...
Sue had dressed herself neatly for work.
4 [VERB] V n
If you dress someone, for example a child, you put clothes on them.
She bathed her and dressed her in clean clothes.
5 [VERB] V in n
If someone dresses in a particular way, they wear clothes of a particular style or colour.
He dresses in a way that lets everyone know he's got authority...
6 [VERB] V for n
If you dress for something, you put on special clothes for it.
We don't dress for dinner here.
7 [VERB] V n
When someone dresses a wound, they clean it and cover it.
The poor child never cried or protested when I was dressing her wounds.
8 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If you dress a salad, you cover it with a mixture of oil, vinegar, and herbs or flavourings.
Scatter the tomato over, then dress the salad.
...a bowl of dressed salad.
9
see also dressing, dressedcock|tail dress (cocktail dresses)
[N-COUNT]
A cocktail dress is a dress that is suitable for formal social occasions.dress cir|cle
[N-SING]
The dress circle is the lowest of the curved rows of seats upstairs in a theatre.dress code (dress codes)
[N-COUNT]
The dress code of a place is the rules about what kind of clothes people are allowed to wear there.
There is a strict dress code: no trainers or jeans.dress down
[PHRASAL VERB] V P
If you dress down, you wear clothes that are less smart than usual.
She dresses down in baggy clothes to avoid hordes of admirers.dress re|hears|al (dress rehearsals)
1 [N-COUNT]
The dress rehearsal of a play, opera, or show is the final rehearsal before it is performed, in which the performers wear their costumes and the lights and scenery are all used as they will be in the performance.
2 [N-COUNT]
You can describe an event as a dress rehearsal for a later, more important event when it indicates how the later event will be.
These elections, you could almost say, are a dress rehearsal for the real elections.dress sense
[N-UNCOUNT]
Someone's dress sense is their ability to choose clothes that make them look attractive.
I've no dress sense at all...dress shirt (dress shirts)
[N-COUNT]
A dress shirt is a special shirt which men wear on formal occasions. It is worn with a dinner jacket and bow tie.dress up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P in/as n
If you dress up or dress yourself up, you put on different clothes, in order to make yourself look smarter than usual or to disguise yourself.
You do not need to dress up for dinner...
Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P
If you dress someone up, you give them special clothes to wear, in order to make them look smarter or to disguise them.
Mother loved to dress me up.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V n P
If you dress something up, you try to make it seem more attractive, acceptable, or interesting than it really is.
Politicians dress up their ruthless ambition as a pursuit of the public good...
However you dress it up, a bank only exists to lend money.
4
see also dressed up, dressing-upeve|ning dress (evening dresses)
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Evening dress consists of the formal clothes that people wear to formal occasions in the evening.
2 [N-COUNT]
An evening dress is a special dress, usually a long one, that a woman wears to a formal occasion in the evening.fan|cy dress
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Fancy dress is clothing that you wear for a party at which everyone tries to look like a famous person or a person from a story, from history, or from a particular profession.
Guests were told to come in fancy dress...full dress
[N-UNCOUNT]
Someone who is in full dress is wearing all the clothes needed for a ceremony or formal occasion.morn|ing dress
[N-UNCOUNT]
Morning dress is a suit that is worn by men for very formal occasions such as weddings. It consists of a grey or black coat that is longer at the back than the front, grey trousers, a white shirt, a grey tie, and often a top hat.wed|ding dress (wedding dresses)
[N-COUNT]
A wedding dress is a special dress that a woman wears at her wedding.