dress (dresses plural & 3rd person present) (dressing present participle) (dressed past tense & past participle )
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.
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evening dress
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fancy dress
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full dress
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morning dress
3 verb When you dress or dressyourself, you put on clothes.
He told Sarah to wait while he dressed... V
Sue had dressed herself neatly for work. V pron-refl
4 verb If you dress someone, for example a child, you put clothes on them.
She bathed her and dressed her in clean clothes. V n
5 verb 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... V in n
6 verb If you dressfor something, you put on special clothes for it.
We don't dress for dinner here. V for n
7 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. V n
8 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. V n
...a bowl of dressed salad. V-ed
9
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dressing
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dressed dress down 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. V P dress up
1 phrasal verb 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... V P
Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas. V P in/as n
2 phrasal verb 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. V n P
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... V P n (not pron)
However you dress it up, a bank only exists to lend money. V n P
4 →
dressed up →
dressing-up
cocktail dress (cocktail dresses plural )A cocktail dress is a dress that is suitable for formal social occasions. n-count
cross-dress (cross-dresses 3rd person present) (cross-dressing present participle) (cross-dressed past tense & past participle )If someone cross-dresses, they wear the clothes of the opposite sex, especially for sexual pleasure. verb
If they want to cross-dress that's fine. V
cross-dresser (cross-dressers plural) n-count
(=transvestite)
The Society maintains that the majority of cross-dressers are heterosexual.
cross-dressing n-uncount
(=transvestism)
Cross-dressing is far more common than we realise.
dress circle
Thedress circle is the lowest of the curved rows of seats upstairs in a theatre. n-sing
dress code (dress codes plural )The dress code of a place is the rules about what kind of clothes people are allowed to wear there. n-count
There is a strict dress code: no trainers or jeans.
dress-down Friday (dress-down Fridays plural )In some companies employees are allowed to wear clothes that are less smart than usual on a Friday. This day is known as a dress-down Friday. n-count
But is it really feasible to don sportswear to the office without the excuse of dress-down Friday?
dress rehearsal (dress rehearsals plural )
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
Someone's dress sense is their ability to choose clothes that make them look attractive. n-uncount
I've no dress sense at all...
dress shirt (dress shirts plural )A dress shirt is a special shirt which men wear on formal occasions. It is worn with a dinner jacket and bow tie. n-count
evening dress (evening dresses plural )
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.
fancy dress
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. n-uncount oft N n
Guests were told to come in fancy dress...
full dress
Someone who is infull dress is wearing all the clothes needed for a ceremony or formal occasion. n-uncount
morning dress
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. n-uncount
wedding dress (wedding dresses plural )A wedding dress is a special dress that a woman wears at her wedding. n-count
