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dress down

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dress

  [dres] noun, adjective, verb, dressed or drest, dress⋅ing.
Use dress down in a Sentence
–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. to 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 fol. 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, esp. an artificial fly) for use.
23. Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
24. to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.
–verb (used without object)
25. 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.
—Verb phrases
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. dress 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, esp. in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.
—Idiom
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; ME dressen < AF dresser, dresc(i)er, to arrange, prepare, OF drecier < VL *dīrēctiāre, deriv. of L dīrēctus direct; n. use of v. in sense “attire” from ca. 1600

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, esp. 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. 2009.
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dress   (drěs)   
v.   dressed, dress·ing, dress·es

v.   tr.

    1. To put clothes on; clothe.

    2. To furnish with clothing.

    3. To put a finish on (stone or wood, for example).

    4. To tan or prepare (a hide) in leather-making.

  2. To decorate or adorn: dress a Christmas tree.

  3. To garnish: dressed the side dish with parsley.

  4. To arrange a display in: dress a store window.

  5. To arrange (troops) in ranks; align.

  6. To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to (a wound).

  7. To arrange and groom (the hair), as by styling, combing, or washing.

  8. To groom (an animal); curry.

  9. To cultivate (land or plants).

  10. To clean (fish or fowl) for cooking or sale.

    1. To put a finish on (stone or wood, for example).

    2. To tan or prepare (a hide) in leather-making.

v.   intr.

  1. To put on clothes.

  2. To wear clothes of a certain kind or style: dresses casually.

  3. To wear formal clothes: dress for dinner.

  4. To get into proper alignment with others: The troops dressed on the squad leader.

n.  

  1. Clothing; apparel.

  2. A style of clothing: folk dancers in peasant dress.

  3. A one-piece outer garment for women or girls.

  4. Outer covering or appearance; guise: an ancient ritual in modern dress.

adj.  

  1. Suitable for formal occasions: dress shoes.

  2. Requiring formal clothes: a dress dinner.

  3. To scold; reprimand: I was dressed down by the teacher for lateness.

  4. To wear informal clothes, befitting an occasion or location: I dressed down for such a casual occasion.

Phrasal Verb(s):
dress down

  1. To scold; reprimand: I was dressed down by the teacher for lateness.

  2. To wear informal clothes, befitting an occasion or location: I dressed down for such a casual occasion.

dress upTo wear formal or fancy clothes: They dressed up and went to the prom.

Idiom(s):
dress ship Nautical To display the ensign, signal flags, and bunting on a ship.

[Middle English dressen, to arrange, put on clothing, from Old French drecier, to arrange, from Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus, past participle of dīrigere, to direct; see direct.]
Word History: A dress is such a common article of modern attire that it is difficult to imagine that the word dress has not always referred to this garment. The earliest noun sense of dress, recorded in a work written before 1450, was "speech, talk." This dress comes from the verb dress, which goes back through Old French drecier, "to arrange," and the assumed Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre to Latin dīrēctus, a form of the verb dīrigere, "to direct." In accordance with its etymology, the verb dress has meant and still means "to place," "to arrange," and "to put in order." The sense "to clothe" is related to the notion of putting in order, specifically in regard to clothing. This verb sense then gave rise to the noun sense "personal attire" as well as to the specific garment sense. The earliest noun sense, "speech," comes from a verb sense having to do with addressing or directing words to other people.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dress  (v.)
c.1330, "make straight," from O.Fr. dresser "put right, put straight," from V.L. *directiare, from L. directus "direct, straight." Sense of "decorate, adorn" is c.1380; that of "put on clothing" c. 1395. Original sense survives in military meaning "align columns of troops." Dress up "attire elaborately" is from 1674; dressing down "wearing clothes less formal than expected" is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. To dress meat or other food (for cooking) is 14c. Dressing-gown first recorded 1777.
"One of those fine old dressy things, who thinks to conceal her age, by everywhere exposing her person" [Goldsmith, 1768].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: dress
Pronunciation: 'dres
Function: verb
: to apply dressings or medicaments to
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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Idioms & Phrases

dress down

  1. 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.

  2. 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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