dress down

dressed down; dressing down; dresses down

Definition of dress down

transitive verb

: to reprove severely

intransitive verb

: to dress casually especially for reasons of fashion

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Examples of dress down in a Sentence

dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance

Recent Examples on the Web Colman is breathtaking in those rare scenes when Elizabeth registers anger, reveals disappointment or dresses down a family member. — Hal Boedeker, orlandosentinel.com, "‘The Crown’: All hail Olivia Colman as Elizabeth II," 13 Nov. 2019 El Tri have some pride to restore after they were given a 4–0 dressing down by Argentina in their previous outing. — Si Wire, SI.com, "Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago Live Stream: Watch Online, TV Channel, Time," 2 Oct. 2019 Whereas Mr Milne is always impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, Mr Cummings dresses down in a sleeveless jacket and trainers. — The Economist, "Cummings and Milne, rival advisers bent on disrupting British politics," 29 Sep. 2019 Antony JonesGetty Images This week, the Duchess of Cambridge dressed down for the inaugural Kings Cup regatta at The Royal Yacht Squadron. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Kate Middleton's Favorite Casual Sneakers Are on Sale for $49," 10 Aug. 2019 The Birmingham office had no reaction to its dressing down on Friday. — Sarah Mervosh, New York Times, "A Presidential Storm Leaves Forecasters Rebuked," 6 Sep. 2019 Whitney always pictured herself wearing an embellished, strapless dress down the aisle. — Vogue, "A Black-Tie Wedding in Sea Island Ended With a Coachella Themed After-Party," 7 Aug. 2019 At ease with their family, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dressed down for a lunchtime outing with the sovereign and her husband, Prince Philip today. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kate Middleton and Prince William Lunch with the Queen in Laid-Back Looks," 23 Aug. 2019 Rounding out the busy page was a story dressing down Ted Williams for his absence from an MLB 100th anniversary party, Nixon’s foreign travel, and the latest moves out of the State House. — Christina Prignano, BostonGlobe.com, "The moon landing and Chappaquiddick: How this week in 1969 unfolded in the pages of the Globe," 17 July 2019

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

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Dictionary Entries near dress down

dressed and matched

dressed masonry

Statistics for dress down

Last Updated

17 Nov 2019

Time Traveler for dress down

The first known use of dress down was in 1852

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