dressing

noun

dress·​ing ˈdre-siŋ 

1

a

: the act or process of one who dresses

b

: an instance of such act or process

2

a

: a sauce for adding to a dish (such as a salad)

b

: a seasoned mixture usually used as a stuffing (as for poultry)

3

a

: material (such as ointment or gauze) applied to cover a lesion or wound

b

: fertilizing material (such as manure or compost)

Synonyms

• plaster

Examples of dressing in a Sentence

We had turkey with dressing and potatoes for dinner.

The nurse cleaned the cut and applied a dressing.

Recent Examples on the Web

Eva Longoria went for monochrome power dressing at the Neiman Marcus holiday campaign and 2025 fantasy gifts launch party on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. —Julia Teti, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2025

Go Greek with roasted tomatoes and crispy chickpeas with lemon-pepper dressing and a cucumber-olive salad, then hop to Haiti for pork cheeks with epis seasoning and prickly pikliz slaw. —Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025

Whether styled with a matching top for a monochromatic moment, like Middleton and Witherspoon, or paired with a T-shirt, like Clarkson, colorful pants are an easy way to make dressing for the office, a date night, or the holidays feel all the more fashionable. —Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025

The reemergence of traditional gender roles manifests in fashion through hyper masculine and hyper feminine ways of dressing. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dressing

• cross-dressing
• dressing-down
• dressing glass
• dressing gown
• dressing room
• dressing table
• French dressing
• house (salad) dressing
• Italian dressing
• ore dressing
• ranch dressing
• Russian dressing
• salad dressing
• side dressing
• Thousand Island dressing
• top dressing
• window dressing

Rhymes for dressing

• blessing
• guessing
• messing
• pressing
• stressing
• accessing
• addressing
• assessing
• caressing
• compressing
• confessing
• depressing

Kids Definition

dressing

noun

dress·​ing ˈdres-iŋ 

1

a

: the act or process of one that dresses

b

: an instance of dressing

2

a

: a sauce for adding to a dish

b

: a seasoned mixture used as a stuffing (as for poultry) or baked and served separately

3

a

: material (as ointment or gauze) used to cover an injury

b

: fertilizing material (as manure or compost)

Medical Definition

dressing

noun

dress·​ing -iŋ 

: a covering (as of ointment or gauze) applied to a lesion