dress rehearsal

noun

Definition of dress rehearsal

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

On April 1 last year, the bureau conducted an end-to-end test, which is like a dress rehearsal for the 2020 Census. — Rebecca Tippett, Vox, "The citizenship question is blocked for now. But demographers are still worried about the census.," 27 June 2019 What’s happening today in New York is a sneak preview: a dress rehearsal, for a handful of friends and family, on the iconic stage of Studio 8H, where the last great boy band of the aughts made its first and only appearance a decade ago. — Jason Gay, Harper's BAZAAR, "Jonas Brothers: From Pop Stars to Rock Stars," 6 June 2019 The tender moments after Tuesday night’s 9-3, 10-inning victory against the Mets served as a dress rehearsal for September, when Bochy says his final goodbyes. — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants pound Mets in 10th inning for Bruce Bochy’s 1,000th regular-season win," 4 June 2019 The final dress rehearsal confirms everything but the actual landing. — Amber Jorgenson, Discover Magazine, "Apollo Milestones," 20 May 2019 Everything prior to this had been tested during the Apollo 10 dress rehearsal, when the lunar module descended to 15 kilometers of the Moon's surface. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Via the BBC, find out how Apollo 11’s Eagle actually landed," 23 June 2019 Because the last performance of a different ballet took place the night before, there was no time for a dress rehearsal. — Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, "The Washington Ballet let Brooklyn Mack go. The popular dancer landed at the Metropolitan Opera House.," 18 June 2019 That show will be a dress rehearsal for the performance at the Big E on Sept. 16 and 17. — Denise Coffey, courant.com, "American Music Celebrated At Putnam’s First Friday," 17 June 2019 The dress rehearsal, like the concert itself, was led by Rev. James Cleveland. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "In Amazing Grace, Aretha Franklin Reminds Us That Fashion Can Be Divine," 10 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dress rehearsal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.