dress-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈdres-ˌəp 

plural dress-ups

1

: a time or occasion for which fancy or formal clothing is worn

Miller used to favor high-necked lace blouses for dress-up and fishing hats for play.

—Curry Kirkpatrick

Marla feels comfiest in jeans and sweats but likes soft beiges for dress-up.

—People Weekly

Also like their parents, children want a wardrobe that is suitable for a variety of activities: play, school and dress-up.

—Andrea Skinner

2

: a game or activity (as for children) that involves dressing up in special clothing or costumes

Most young children like to play dress-up, parading around the house in their dad's wing tips or smearing their mom's lipstick all over their face.

—Christine Gorman

Nina was petite but too muscular to wear her mother's cast-off Chanel. She was like a girl playing dress-up.

—Tom Jenks

I drew pictures with her and played dress-up with our mother's party gowns.

—Lorene Cary

So get in the spirit with these costume parties, haunted tours, pet dress-ups, … and haunted houses.

—Cincinnati.com

dress up

2 of 2

verb

dressed up; dressing up; dresses up

transitive verb

1

: to make more attractive, glamorous, or fancy

dress up a plain dessert with a rich chocolate sauce

2

a

: to attire in best or formal clothes

b

: to attire in clothes suited to a particular role

3

: to present in the most attractive or impressive light

a fiasco dressed up as a triumph

intransitive verb

: to get dressed up

Synonyms of dress-up

Verb

• dress
• doll up

Examples of dress-up in a Sentence

Verb

we always like to dress up when going to parties

the war was a fiasco that the administration tried to dress up as a triumph

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But Williams is arguably the professional multi-tasker to break the dress-up fanny-pack law. — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Such is the impression given by having the comedian pop up, Zelig-like, everywhere from the Donner Party to Rosa Parks’ fateful bus ride — that, and David’s desire to get the gang back together (plus a few high-profile new additions) to play dress-up. — Alison Herman, Variety, 24 June 2026

Verb

Pair it with boucle furniture and plush throws for a cozier look, or use it to dress up a soothing blue bedroom. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 July 2026

Ella, Natasha and Alex — along with the baseball player’s ex Jaclyn Cordeiro — got all dressed up for a family holiday photo last December. — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from the phrasal verb dress up

First Known Use

Noun

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2a

Rhymes for dress-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

dress up

verb

1

: to put on one's best or formal clothes

2

: to put on strange or fancy clothes

dress up for Halloween