fancy dress

noun

: a costume (as for a masquerade) chosen to suit the wearer's fancy

Examples of fancy dress in a Sentence

Everyone wore fancy dress for the ball.

Recent Examples on the Web

There is typically one formal evening, but fancy dress is not required. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

Rutter donned a wetsuit for his title-winning runs, but the vast majority arrive every year resplendent in an array of fancy dress. — Rob Tanner, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

And yet a long fancy dress just isn’t what many Alaskans wear on a normal day of the week. — Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2026

The guests—including Kate Middleton and Peter's cousin Prince William—shielded their fancy dress with umbrellas, as the skies threatened to open. — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 6 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fancy dress

• abs
• acquiesce
• authoress
• bodiless
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless