dress rehearsal
noun
1
: a full rehearsal (as of a play) in costume and with stage properties shortly before the first performance
2
: a practice exercise for something to come : dry run
Examples of dress rehearsal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That test, known as a wet dress rehearsal, was the second after an earlier demonstration in February uncovered liquid hydrogen leaks that forced an earlier delay.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
This lower level of exposure is a dress rehearsal for what comes next — the commercial flight to Seattle.
—Evan Roberts, NPR, 24 Feb. 2026
The February attempt, though, was taken off the board when NASA’s first wet dress rehearsal ran into cryogenic liquid hydrogen leaks into the SLS core stage during tanking.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Helium did not flow properly during normal operations and reconfigurations that followed the wet dress rehearsal that concluded on Thursday.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dress rehearsal
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Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
This lower level of exposure is a dress rehearsal for what comes next — the commercial flight to Seattle.
—Evan Roberts, NPR, 24 Feb. 2026
The February attempt, though, was taken off the board when NASA’s first wet dress rehearsal ran into cryogenic liquid hydrogen leaks into the SLS core stage during tanking.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Helium did not flow properly during normal operations and reconfigurations that followed the wet dress rehearsal that concluded on Thursday.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dress rehearsal
Cite this Entry
“Dress rehearsal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dress%20rehearsal. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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