dress
(dres )
Word forms: dresses , dressing , dressed
1. countable noun A1
A dress is a piece of clothing for a woman or girl that covers the body and part or all of the legs.
She was wearing a black dress.
Synonyms: frock, shift, gown, garment
2. uncountable noun B2
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.
3. See also evening dress, fancy dress, full dress, morning dress
4. verb A2
When you dress or dress yourself, you put on clothes.
He told Sarah to wait while he dressed. [VERB]
Sue had dressed herself neatly for work. [VERB pronoun-reflexive]
Synonyms: put on clothes, don clothes, slip on or into something
5. verb A2 wear
If you dress someone, for example a child, you put clothes on them.
She bathed her and dressed her in clean clothes. [VERB noun]
6. verb B1
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. [VERB + in]
She used to dress in jeans. [VERB in noun]
7. verb
If you dress for something, you put on special clothes for it.
We don't dress for dinner here. [VERB + for]
8. verb
When someone dresses a wound, they clean it and cover it.
The poor child never cried or protested when I was dressing her wounds. [VERB noun]
9. verb
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. [VERB noun]
...a bowl of dressed salad. [VERB-ed]
10. verb
To dress meat, chicken, or fish means to prepare it for cooking by cleaning it and removing the parts that you cannot eat.
Her mother dressed the meat. [VERB noun]
...dressed crab. [VERB-ed]
11. See also dressed, dressing
Phrasal verbs:
dress down
1. phrasal verb
If you dress down, you wear clothes that are less smart than usual.
She dresses down in baggy clothes to avoid hordes of admirers. [VERB PARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb [Also VERB PARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
If you dress someone down, you speak angrily to them because they have done something bad or foolish.
Campbell dressed them down in public. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
3. See also dressing-down
dress up
1. phrasal verb B2 [Also + in]
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. [VERB PARTICLE]
I just love the fun of dressing up in another era's clothing. [V P in/as n]
Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas. [VERB PARTICLE + as]
2. phrasal verb [Also VERB PARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
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. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
3. phrasal verb
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. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
However you dress it up, a bank only exists to lend money. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
4. See also dressed up, dressing-up
Image of dress
© Tarzhanova, Shutterstock
Quotations:
When you're all dressed up and have no place to gosong title
Collocations:
dress a salad dress a wound dress elegantly dress fabric dress formally dress impeccably dress nicely dress properly dress size dress smartly dress warmly elegant dress floral dress frilly dress lace dress linen dress long dress manner of dress nice dress perfect dress plain dress pretty dress print dress prom dress silk dress simple dress sleeveless dress strapless dress summer dress traditional dress velvet dress vinegar dressing wear a dress
Drain the dressing through a tea strainer and dress the salad leaves.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and use half to dress the salad leaves.
The Sun (2014)
Both chicken and salad are dressed with a dijon mustard vinaigrette.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Looking for an orderly to dress the wound, he came across a young soldier of his platoon, mortally wounded.
Times, Sunday Times
Against their better judgement, they carry the hijacker inside and dress his wound.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
They locked themselves in a cubicle where he dressed their wounds with lavatory paper.
Times, Sunday Times
He took out time daily to bathe her, to apply medicine, dress her wounds and feed her.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
He received a loaf of bread in which were concealed several lengths of clean linen bandages with which he could dress his wounds.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
They had been told to 'dress elegantly, with not too much make-up'.
Times, Sunday Times
He teaches her how to read, write, to speak eloquently, and to dress elegantly.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Dressed elegantly and simply in black, and surrounded by the historic memorabilia (photographs, posters and programmes) that decorate her home office, she seems to embody vitality and determination.
Times, Sunday Times
He dressed elegantly, with good, well-cut suits, but tended to wear them to extinction.
Times, Sunday Times
He dressed elegantly and spoke clearly.
Times, Sunday Times
Innovations in roller printing on textiles introduced new dress fabrics.
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Spinning, weaving, and finishing departments were added to increase production capacity for new textile products including uniforms, shirting materials, dress fabrics, and furnishings.
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The mill also produced fine wool dress fabrics, cloakings and cashmeres.
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We were invited to dress formally or in national dress.
The Sun
She was asked to dress formally as she did for the painting.
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At each dinner students dress formally and wear their undergraduate gowns.
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Both dressed formally and expensively, in jewellery, lipstick and suits, even at home.
Times,Sunday Times
He has a small moustache and dresses formally in black.
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He continued to dress impeccably, including a red carnation in his lapel.
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He dressed impeccably, with a penchant for braces, silk scarves, rings, cufflinks, a pocket watch and hats for every occasion.
Times, Sunday Times
She's dressed impeccably, all in white.
Christianity Today
He dressed impeccably in the finest fabrics and spent lavishly on everything from trinkets to dinners.
Globe and Mail
It won't even dress nicely or wear pretty shoes.
Times,Sunday Times
Some people are so naturally fastidious, they would do their hair and make-up and dress nicely even if they were alone in the middle of nowhere.
Times, Sunday Times
I just had no confidence or interest in dressing nicely.
The Sun
Well, you're in a space with four walls, a speaker system, some people who are dressed nicely.
Times, Sunday Times
Without getting dressed properly, I rushed outside.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
To get it back she had to appear in court and promise to dress properly.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They are not prepared or dressed properly and so are exposed to the elements.
Self-Hypnosis (1994)
The changing dress size measurements throw up anomalies.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
As well as me dropping a dress size, he's lost his little pot belly.
The Sun (2010)
The increase, roughly equivalent to two dress sizes, saw the hip measurements for size 10 clothing rise from 91cm in 1981 to 93cm in 2002.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Get the basics right - be on time and dress smartly.
The Sun
There are formal nights when most passengers dress smartly, not necessarily in a dickie bow.
The Sun
Dress smartly but pick out a bright tie, for instance.
The Sun
Dress smartly to show you're serious.
The Sun
Dressed smartly in a black suit and tie, the same uniform donned by the special security staff, he was able to take up a position right next to the ambassador.
Times, Sunday Times
Doctors who treat only those sensible enough to dress warmly so as not to catch colds?
Times, Sunday Times
We took to heart most of the well-wishing advice you gave us as we left, but the numerous admonitions to dress warmly didn't ‘take’.
Christianity Today
He tells his family to dress warmly but properly; then they head outside.
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When they fail to comply, he orders a massive industrial air conditioner, forcing them to dress warmly.
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She dressed warmly and left home with a box of matches at 6am.
Times, Sunday Times
Combined with all that, he has an elegant dress sense, brooding good looks and a loving family.
Times, Sunday Times
The shepperds wear an elegant dress, suitable for the party.
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A great way to glam up your evening look, just add elegant dresses and long, slender necks.
The Sun
She wore flares, elegant dresses and make-up.
Times, Sunday Times
By the mid-1990s, she often selected a tight, low bun as an on-ice hairstyle, coupled with extremely elegant dresses with highly detailed beading and design details.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The princess is wearing a pale cardigan with matching tights and a floral dress with a white collar.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Her floral dress was certainly a safe choice.
The Sun (2013)
Which is what makes the floral dress a blooming fabulous approach to dressing in winter.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This weekend I stood looking in the mirror wearing a floaty floral dress.
The Sun (2016)
Layer your frilly dress over a jumper for a winter take on the trend.
The Sun
Before she was even born, her wardrobe was full of frilly dresses and headbands with huge flowers and bows on them.
The Sun
I'd love to do her hair and have someone to put frilly dresses on.
The Sun
A few doors along in the centuries-old bazaar, a butcher's block used for preparing cuts of buffalo meat bears a pile of frilly dresses.
Times, Sunday Times
I can't wear frilly dresses.
Times, Sunday Times
Or the lace dress, the cashmere roll-neck or even the leather trousers?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Wear yours with a suede coat now and a lace dress in summer.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The houndstooth chiffon blouse (39.50) and a sleeveless black fitted linen dress (45) are worth trying on too.
Times, Sunday Times
I can pull out this linen dress/top every summer.
Times, Sunday Times
I will wear a gauzy linen dress and a straw hat, if it doesn't rain or snow or hail.
Globe and Mail
So she suggested more simple and cheaper, yet just as chic, substitutes such as a few metres of patterned linen dressed up with a plush swathe of ribbon.
Times, Sunday Times
I spent the first two days running piping hot baths and wafting linen dresses around in the bathroom in the hope the deep wrinkles would steam out.
Times, Sunday Times
I do like lace and crochet, and would prefer a short tea dress or a simple long dress.
Times, Sunday Times
You'll wear it far less than a long dress, which will look effortlessly good throughout the summer.
The Sun
Alternatively, skip the whole agonising debate and save red for a long dress.
Times, Sunday Times
Five: just because you think this may be your only chance to wear a long dress, don't be tempted by some princessy meringue number.
Times, Sunday Times
Imagine that you're fairly short, wearing a long dress and holding a precious violin.
Times, Sunday Times
His sayings did not concern the ways of our ancient kings, nor did his manner of dress conform to their laws.
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All manner of dress, ritual, and ceremony have been designed to shore up the perception of the powerful.
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The style and manner of dress are informed by the biological and social needs of the human being.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
The identification by manner of dress negates the need to remember the division of players among friends, or to learn the faces of strangers in a pickup game.
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These clubs catered to varying interests, primarily sports, and might involve distinctive manners of dress and custom.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
I would have arrived in a nice dress, otherwise.
Times, Sunday Times
He also told her to pack a nice dress for the evening.
Times, Sunday Times
I am told it was a fashion-forward choice, but that still doesn't make it a nice dress.
Times, Sunday Times
He enclosed a pound for her to buy a nice dress.
Times, Sunday Times
I can even wear a nice dress without looking out of place.
Christianity Today
I just had to wait until the perfect dress arrived.
Times, Sunday Times
Funny and heart-warming in equal measure, we love watching him help brides find their perfect dress.
The Sun
Average costs include 1,069 for the perfect dress and 2,039 for wedding rings.
Times, Sunday Times
It feels like a dress that has my best interests at heart and, in the end, that's what the perfect dress means to me at this precise moment.
Times, Sunday Times
But now she has spotted the perfect dress - a mint-green confection.
Times, Sunday Times
It's a very plain dress, black, reveals nothing, but hugs every curve.
Times, Sunday Times
If you want to wear a plain dress, make it special with big jewellery.
Times, Sunday Times
Friends used to have a strong tradition of simplicity in dress, more properly called plain dress.
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Her fine gown has changed back into a plain dress.
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They promoted plain dress, simple lifestyle, and church discipline.
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These were clothes edgy enough for a 20-year-old who wants a pretty dress, yet not so pretty as to appear staid or twee.
Times, Sunday Times
And you can toughen up a pretty dress with chunky armystyle boots.
The Sun
She hasn't worn a pretty dress for goodness knows how many years.
The Sun
I love shoes and most of my spare cash that isn't spent on football goes on high heels and pretty dresses.
The Sun
In 2009 the mum of two wore pretty dresses and little make-up.
The Sun
The best print dress on the high street.
Times, Sunday Times
Here she clashes a pair of block-heeled 1970s-style shoes with a satin decometric print dress with a kicky hem.
Times, Sunday Times
It's the shop that never lets you down - provided that you're not looking for a print dress or a red satin trouser suit.
Times, Sunday Times
Don't be scared by the prospect of a prom dress.
The Sun
She wants a perfect prom dress for her graduation ball next month.
The Sun
I photographed her larking around with nurses, smiling in her prom dress and celebrating her 17th birthday.
The Sun
If you buy a net petticoat to wear underneath, it will look like a 1950s prom dress.
Times, Sunday Times
The more judgmental out there will say that it's too reminiscent of a prom dress.
Times, Sunday Times
Most of her white silk dress stayed on the throne owing to the wet paint.
TICKLED PINK (2002)
Liz stood at the bedroom window while Moira wriggled out of her jeans and lifted a patterned silk dress out of her wardrobe.
AN OLDER WOMAN (2001)
Her long dark hair was tied back with a plain blue ribbon and she wore a simple dress of fine grey wool, covered with a warm fur cloak.
TREASON KEEP (2002)
Lace tights are a great way to add an expensive, couture feel to a simple dress or pencil skirt.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She had full, reddened lips and dark eyes, and she was wearing a perfectly simple dress of gleaming topaz satin.
THE WHITE DOVE (2003)
I remember looking out of the taxi afterwards and seeing her standing there in a red sleeveless dress, waving energetically.
Times, Sunday Times
A fitted or semi-fitted sleeveless dress: this winter's sophisticated antidote to the put-it-away or give-it-away smock dress.
Times, Sunday Times
Your sleeveless dress can do warm and cosy.
Times, Sunday Times
At the launch of her campaign, he paraded in front of the party headquarters with her, hands clasped high, he in trademark scarlet shirt, she in red sleeveless dress.
Times, Sunday Times
Female journalists could not wear sleeveless dresses or shirts and men were to wear suits and ties.
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If you want to feel even more secure you can adapt a strapless dress with ribbon and make a halterneck, which we have done here.
The Sun
My prize was a black strapless dress with a grand tulle skirt, a bargain at the giveaway price of 1,100.
Times, Sunday Times
Hanger loops - unless it's a strapless dress, we don't need 'em.
The Sun
A black zip dress introduced a saucier, edgier look for the evening, while a teal strapless dress spoke of luxury and elegance.
canada.com
To interpret this trend as body-con would be to miss entirely its more sophisticated take on summer dressing.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Simply remove the poloneck from under the check one and you have a great summer dress.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
She wore a floaty summer dress and bright blue trainers.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She's looking for a simple yet traditional dress on a budget.
Times, Sunday Times
On most occasions he shuns traditional dress in favour of a lounge suit and schoolmaster-style gown.
Times, Sunday Times
He was often in demand for photoshoots for travel and tourism magazines, where he would pose in traditional dress.
Times, Sunday Times
The concession from a hotel chain that has prided itself on a traditional dress code comes amidst growing concern over the vulnerability of chambermaids.
Times, Sunday Times
But the collection returned to form with lovely evening wear, most notably a deep blue velvet dress of puritan simplicity.
Times, Sunday Times
One night she wore a black velvet dress with a white cowl on it.
Times, Sunday Times
I'm wearing a long, burgundy velvet dress, with a lowcut front and plenty of lace detailing.
Times, Sunday Times
A 349.99 beaded velvet dress was listed at 6,000 and had attracted 19 bids by 4pm.
The Sun
She wears a black velvet dress with red satin trim, a dark brown hat and a small gold chain with a pendant.
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Drizzle with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Ask for the roasted sweet balsamic vinegar dressing on the side.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The jacket will enable you to wear the dress through much of autumn and winter.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Translations:
Chinese: 连衣裙, 穿衣
Japanese: ワンピース, 服を着る
- local branch
- local builder
- local bureaucrat
- local business
- local businessman
- local butcher
- local cafe
- local caterer
- local celebrity
- local cemetery
- local charity
- local chief
- local church
- local clinic
- local club
- local color
- local colour
- local commander
- local committee
- local community
- local congregation
- local conservationist
- local constabulary
- local constituency
- local contractor