dressed; dressing; dresses
1
a
: to make or set straight
b
: to arrange (troops, equipment, etc.) in a straight line and at proper intervals
2
: to prepare for use or service
specifically
: to prepare for cooking or for the table
dress a salad
3
: to add decorative details or accessories to : embellish
4
a
: to put clothes on
dress a child
b
: to provide with clothing
feed and dress a growing family
5
archaic
: dress down
6
a
: to apply dressings or medicaments to
dress a wound
b(1)
: to arrange (the hair) by combing, brushing, or curling
(2)
: to groom and curry (an animal)
c
: to kill and prepare for market or for consumption
—often used with out
e
: to put through a finishing process
especially
: to trim and smooth the surface of (a material, such as lumber or stone)
1
a
: to put on clothing
b
: to put on or wear formal, elaborate, or fancy clothes
dress for dinner
2
of a food animal
: to weigh after being dressed
—often used with out
3
: to align oneself with the next soldier in a line to make the line straight
1
: suitable for a formal occasion
dress clothes
dress shoes
2
: requiring or permitting formal dress
a dress affair
3
: relating to or used for a dress
dress material
Synonyms
Examples of dress in a Sentence
Verb
They dressed themselves in a hurry.
He dressed the child in a snowsuit.
She showered, dressed, and ate breakfast.
She dressed warmly for skiing.
She is dressing for the opera.
They always dress for dinner.
The nurse dressed the cut on my knee.
Noun
She wore dresses only on special occasions.
She wore a short black dress to the party.
Her wedding dress was decorated with lace.
The guests were clothed in traditional Indian dress.
It is wise to wear conservative dress to an interview.
Adjective
I wore dress pants and a nice sweater.
the naval commander wore his dress uniform to the ball
Recent Examples on the Web
Herb Scribner, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Chicagoans generally pride themselves on dressing their dogs with other condiments, including mustard, neon-green relish, onion, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt, all on a poppy seed bun.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
She was dressed in a robe decorated in tatreez (Palestinian embroidery), her strength of presence a reminder of her years-long commitment to Palestinian storytelling.
—Zahra Hankir, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Apr. 2024
Then, Erykah Badu, dressed in an eye-catching Marni look (hat, included!) took to the stage to introduce her dear friend Francesco Risso.
—Sam Sussman, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Because the activities and food sales are on the plaza this year, attendees will want to dress for being outside for an extended period.
—The Indianapolis Star, 12 Apr. 2024
Costumes are by renowned costume designer Lauren Carmen, a former ballet dancer who has dressed performers across the world.
—James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Both women also shared photos with Rolling Stone of themselves with Nelson in years past, showing Nelson evidently living the life of the average American teenager: hanging out at the mall, going bowling, using makeup, dressing in costumes, and taking silly selfies with Snapchat filters.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
But facing a UConn team that dressed only eight players and played seven, USC chipped away.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The bottom of the dress flares out into chic layers of ruffles, and the sleeves feature additional ruffles for extra style points.
—Brandi Fuller, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, at a red carpet event, Venus Williams wore a pink Prada dress that had our heads turning.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
For an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show, model Kaia Gerber went sky blue in her Tod’s tube dress—a silhouette recalling ’90s minimalism, when her mother Cindy Crawford was dominating the fashion world.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 Apr. 2024
For the occasion, Markle chose a dress that, once again, featured her favorite cut: the halter neck, which took us back to her wedding reception dress by Stella McCartney.
—Arancha Gamo, Glamour, 13 Apr. 2024
Then there was the undefined femininity of baby doll dresses with a t-shirt underneath or cropped cardigans with pleated skirts—think Cher Horowitz in Clueless or Kelly Taylor in Beverly Hills, 90210.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 3 Apr. 2024
Dunst, 41, dazzled in a black dress and silver accessories.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
The campaign, shot by photographer pair Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott with styling by Jacob K, finds the two wearing pieces from the new line including a leather dress and denim bustier for Hathaway, and a trench and tailored suiting on Murphy.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024
Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Feb. 2022
And within the summer maxi dress umbrella are options for every style and aesthetic; there’s one to delight no matter your style—even a few for the non-dress girls!
—Madeline Fass, Vogue, 4 May 2021
That's the case even if the job does not require dress clothes.
—Daniel B. Kline, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2017
Dress code controversies are nothing new, especially in the era of social media.
—Rafael Guerrero, chicagotribune.com, 29 Aug. 2017
Factor in alterations: Dress alterations can be costly, so talk to your salon about their policy in advance.
—Emily Valla, idahostatesman, 21 July 2017
Dress-code-busting aside, these are some excellent, just-DGAF-enough outfits.
—Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 13 July 2017
Dress code double standards not only can make summer unbearable but also serve to police people's gender expression.
—Suzannah Weiss, Glamour, 23 June 2017
Dress Meets Body collection, which is set in a large funnel-like space with a video of Merce Cunningham’s dancers performing in the clothing by viewers’ feet.
—Steff Yotka, Vogue, 1 May 2017
Verb
Fans flocked to movie theaters dressed in pink costumes and glitter to celebrate the film.
—Herb Scribner, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Chicagoans generally pride themselves on dressing their dogs with other condiments, including mustard, neon-green relish, onion, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt, all on a poppy seed bun.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
She was dressed in a robe decorated in tatreez (Palestinian embroidery), her strength of presence a reminder of her years-long commitment to Palestinian storytelling.
—Zahra Hankir, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Apr. 2024
Then, Erykah Badu, dressed in an eye-catching Marni look (hat, included!) took to the stage to introduce her dear friend Francesco Risso.
—Sam Sussman, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Because the activities and food sales are on the plaza this year, attendees will want to dress for being outside for an extended period.
—The Indianapolis Star, 12 Apr. 2024
Costumes are by renowned costume designer Lauren Carmen, a former ballet dancer who has dressed performers across the world.
—James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Both women also shared photos with Rolling Stone of themselves with Nelson in years past, showing Nelson evidently living the life of the average American teenager: hanging out at the mall, going bowling, using makeup, dressing in costumes, and taking silly selfies with Snapchat filters.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
But facing a UConn team that dressed only eight players and played seven, USC chipped away.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun
The dress comes in sizes S–5XL and virtually every color of the rainbow, including olive green and white.
—Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
The bottom of the dress flares out into chic layers of ruffles, and the sleeves feature additional ruffles for extra style points.
—Brandi Fuller, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, at a red carpet event, Venus Williams wore a pink Prada dress that had our heads turning.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
For an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show, model Kaia Gerber went sky blue in her Tod’s tube dress—a silhouette recalling ’90s minimalism, when her mother Cindy Crawford was dominating the fashion world.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 Apr. 2024
For the occasion, Markle chose a dress that, once again, featured her favorite cut: the halter neck, which took us back to her wedding reception dress by Stella McCartney.
—Arancha Gamo, Glamour, 13 Apr. 2024
Then there was the undefined femininity of baby doll dresses with a t-shirt underneath or cropped cardigans with pleated skirts—think Cher Horowitz in Clueless or Kelly Taylor in Beverly Hills, 90210.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 3 Apr. 2024
Dunst, 41, dazzled in a black dress and silver accessories.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
The campaign, shot by photographer pair Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott with styling by Jacob K, finds the two wearing pieces from the new line including a leather dress and denim bustier for Hathaway, and a trench and tailored suiting on Murphy.
—Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024
Adjective
While Gigi's mid-length dress featured a sheer corset, her sister walked down the runway in an opaque mini-dress version of the look.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Feb. 2022
And within the summer maxi dress umbrella are options for every style and aesthetic; there’s one to delight no matter your style—even a few for the non-dress girls!
—Madeline Fass, Vogue, 4 May 2021
That's the case even if the job does not require dress clothes.
—Daniel B. Kline, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2017
Dress code controversies are nothing new, especially in the era of social media.
—Rafael Guerrero, chicagotribune.com, 29 Aug. 2017
Factor in alterations: Dress alterations can be costly, so talk to your salon about their policy in advance.
—Emily Valla, idahostatesman, 21 July 2017
Dress-code-busting aside, these are some excellent, just-DGAF-enough outfits.
—Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 13 July 2017
Dress code double standards not only can make summer unbearable but also serve to police people's gender expression.
—Suzannah Weiss, Glamour, 23 June 2017
Dress Meets Body collection, which is set in a large funnel-like space with a video of Merce Cunningham’s dancers performing in the clothing by viewers’ feet.
—Steff Yotka, Vogue, 1 May 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dress. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dress
1 of 3 verb1
: to make or set straight
2
a
: to put clothes on
b
: to provide with clothing
c
: to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes
3
: to trim or decorate for display
4
: to put in order
5
a
: to apply dressings or medicine to
dress a wound
b
: to arrange (as the hair) by combing, brushing, or curling
d
: to kill and prepare for market
dress a chicken
e
: to apply manure or fertilizer to
dress
2 of 3 noun1
2
: an outer garment with a skirt for a woman or child
3
: clothing appropriate to a particular time or occasion
Roman dress
evening dress
dress
3 of 3 adjective1
: suitable or required for a formal occasion
dress clothes
2
: relating to or used for a dress
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