Word forms: plural dress rehearsals1. countable nounThe 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. countable nounYou 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. [+ for]