Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

dress rehearsal

noun

Definition of dress rehearsal

  1. 1 :  a full rehearsal (as of a play) in costume and with stage properties shortly before the first performance

  2. 2 :  a practice exercise for something to come :  dry run

See dress rehearsal defined for English-language learners

See dress rehearsal defined for kids

From the M-W Editors

alt-5978a79b75e17
Trending: 'Transgender' Americans Face New Restrictions
image1358596246
Words About Word Play
alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
alt-597a00ef4b9d7
'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'

First Known Use of dress rehearsal

1828

DRESS REHEARSAL Defined for English Language Learners

dress rehearsal

noun

Definition of dress rehearsal for English Language Learners

  • : the final practice of a play that is done with all the costumes, scenery, etc., that will be used in the first real performance before an audience

Learn More about dress rehearsal

  1. See words that rhyme with dress rehearsal

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up dress rehearsal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

inhere

play

to be a fixed element or attribute

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  2. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  3. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  4. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  5. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-597a00ef4b9d7
'Motif' vs 'Leitmotif'

A pattern emerges.

alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

alt-5978cb55e8ba5
The Grammatical History of 'Awaken'/'Awoken'/'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

alt-597a99e699d07
July 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Test your knowledge.

Take the quiz
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game