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adjective
pertaining to or being a policy that allows employees to dress less formally than usual: dress-down days during the summer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.
2.
clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful.
3.
formal attire.
4.
a particular form of appearance; guise.
5.
outer covering, as the plumage of birds.
adjective
6.
of or for a dress or dresses.
7.
of or for a formal occasion.
8.
requiring formal dress.
verb (used with object)
9.
to put clothing upon.
10.
to put formal or evening clothes on.
11.
to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.
12.
to design clothing for or sell clothes to.
13.
EXPANDto comb out and do up (hair).
14.
to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often followed by out when referring to a large animal): We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.
15.
to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.
16.
to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).
17.
to make straight; bring (troops) into line: to dress ranks.
18.
to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.
19.
to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).
20.
Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.
21.
to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.
22.
Angling.
a.
to prepare or bait (a fishhook) for use.
b.
to prepare (bait, especially an artificial fly) for use.
23.
Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
24.
COLLAPSEto supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.
verb (used without object)
Verb phrases25.
to clothe or attire oneself; put on one's clothes: Wake up and dress, now!
26.
to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes: to dress for dinner.
27.
to come into line, as troops.
28.
to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line.
29.
dress down,
a.
to reprimand; scold.
b.
to thrash; beat.
c.
to dress informally or less formally: to dress down for the shipboard luau.
30.
Idiomdress up,
a.
to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally: They were dressed up for the Easter parade.
b.
to dress in costume or in another person's clothes: to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette.
c.
to embellish or disguise, especially in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.
31.
dress ship,
a.
to decorate a ship by hoisting lines of flags running its full length.
b.
U.S. Navy. to display the national ensigns at each masthead and a larger ensign on the flagstaff.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English dressen < Anglo-French dresser, dresc(i)er, to arrange, prepare, Old French drecier < Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre, derivative of Latin dīrēctus direct; noun use of v. in sense “attire” from circa 1600
1275–1325; Middle English dressen < Anglo-French dresser, dresc(i)er, to arrange, prepare, Old French drecier < Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre, derivative of Latin dīrēctus direct; noun use of v. in sense “attire” from circa 1600
Related forms
half-dressed, adjective
out·dress, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
1. frock. Dress, costume, gown refer to garments for women. Dress is the general term for a garment: a black dress. Costume is used of the style of dress appropriate to some occasion, purpose, period, or character, especially as used on the stage, at balls, at court, or the like, and may apply to men's garments as well: an 18th-century costume. Gown is usually applied to a dress more expensive and elegant than the ordinary, usually long, to be worn on a special occasion: a wedding gown. 2. raiment, attire, clothes, habit, garments, vestments, habiliments. 9. clothe, robe, garb.
1. frock. Dress, costume, gown refer to garments for women. Dress is the general term for a garment: a black dress. Costume is used of the style of dress appropriate to some occasion, purpose, period, or character, especially as used on the stage, at balls, at court, or the like, and may apply to men's garments as well: an 18th-century costume. Gown is usually applied to a dress more expensive and elegant than the ordinary, usually long, to be worn on a special occasion: a wedding gown. 2. raiment, attire, clothes, habit, garments, vestments, habiliments. 9. clothe, robe, garb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To dress down
Collins
World English Dictionary
| dress down | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | informal (tr) to reprimand severely or scold (a person) |
| 2. | (intr) to dress in a casual or informal manner, esp at work |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dress
1606, originally any clothing, especially that appropriate to rank or to some ceremony; sense of "woman's garment" is first recorded 1638, with overtones of "made not merely to clothe but to adorn." Dressing "bandage" is first recorded 1713. Dress rehearsal first recorded 1828.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
dress (drěs)
v. dressed, dress·ing, dress·es
To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to an area of the body such as a wound.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
dress down
-
Scold, reprimand, as in The sergeant will dress down the entire unit. In the 15th century the verb dress alone was used in the sense of "punish," down being added several centuries later. It also gave rise to the noun dressing down for punishment with blows or words. For example, The teacher gave the girls a severe dressing down.
-
Wear informal clothes, as in It's best to dress down for a party like a barbecue. [Mid-1900s] For the antonym, see dress up.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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