verb (used with object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.
- to prepare or bait (a fishhook) for use.
- to prepare (bait, especially an artificial fly) for use.
verb (used without object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.
- to reprimand; scold.
- to thrash; beat.
- to dress informally or less formally: to dress down for the shipboard luau.
- to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally: They were dressed up for the Easter parade.
- to dress in costume or in another person's clothes: to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette.
- to embellish or disguise, especially in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.
- to decorate a ship by hoisting lines of flags running its full length.
- U.S. Navy.to display the national ensigns at each masthead and a larger ensign on the flagstaff.
Origin of dress
Synonyms for dress
Related Words for dressgown, frock, attire, garb, uniform, apparel, costume, suit, wardrobe, robe, skirt, ensemble, smock, trim, drape, don, adorn, cover, decorate, clothe
Examples from the Web for dress
Contemporary Examples of dress
Families stuff a life-size male doll with memories of the outgoing year and dress him in their clothing.New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style
December 31, 2014
“The dress is just fishnet and crystals and a couple fingers crossed,” Selman told Style.com of the dress.What, and Who, You'll Be Wearing in 2015
December 27, 2014
The exhibit also includes examples of designers borrowing from fine art, as Yves Saint Laurent did with his Mondrian dress.The Big Business of Fashion Counterfeits
December 24, 2014
As the interview wound down, Bentivolio reflected on what may have motivated him to dress as Santa.Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus
December 24, 2014
They dress in clothing from the flophouse lost-and-found and are groomed with a hacksaw and gravel rake.Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham
P. J. O’Rourke
December 13, 2014
Historical Examples of dress
So people say; but he doesn't show it in his dress or way of living.
From his dress, and the commands he appeared to be issuing, Robert judged that it was the mate.
Each modification of your dress makes you seem more bewitching than the last.Viviette
William J. Locke
In this resolution he had begun to dress, but before he had finished had begun to have his doubts.Weighed and Wanting
But for her consolation were the matters of food and dress, and of countless junketings.Within the Law
- to change one's clothes
- to wear formal or evening clothes
Word Origin for dress
early 14c., "make straight; direct, guide, control, prepare for cooking," from Old French dresser, drecier "raise (oneself), address, prepare, lift, raise, hoist, set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food), straighten, put right, direct," from Vulgar Latin *directiare, from Latin directus "direct, straight" (see direct (v.)).
Sense of "decorate, adorn" is late 14c., as is that of "put on clothing." Original sense survives in military meaning "align columns of troops." Dress up "attire elaborately" is from 1670s; dressing down "wearing clothes less formal than expected" is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. Related: Dressed; dressing.
c.1600, originally any clothing, especially that appropriate to rank or to some ceremony; sense of "woman's garment" is first recorded 1630s, with overtones of "made not merely to clothe but to adorn." Dress rehearsal first recorded 1828.