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Dress

//dɹes// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
(of an occasion) requiring formal clothes wordnet
2
suitable for formal occasions wordnet

Noun

1
An item of clothing (usually worn by a woman or young girl) which both covers the upper part of the body and includes a skirt below the waist. countable, uncountable
"Amy and Mary looked very pretty in their dresses."
2
acronym of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms or drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
3
clothing in general wordnet
4
An item of outer clothing or set of such clothes (worn by people of all sexes) which is generally decorative and appropriate for a particular occasion, profession, etc. countable, uncountable
"I have been thinking, George, of changing our travelling dreſſes in the morning. I am grown confoundedly aſhamed of mine."
5
clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion wordnet

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6
An item of outer clothing or set of such clothes (worn by people of all sexes) which is generally decorative and appropriate for a particular occasion, profession, etc.; Any item of clothing, or an outfit. India, broadly, countable, uncountable
"He wore a bright orange dress to the office yesterday."
7
a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice wordnet
8
Ellipsis of dress rehearsal. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
9
Apparel or clothing, especially when appropriate for a particular occasion, profession, etc. countable, uncountable
"military dress"
10
The act of putting on clothes, especially fashionable ones, or for a particular (especially formal) occasion. archaic, countable, uncountable
11
The external covering of an animal (for example, the feathers of a bird) or an object. broadly, countable, uncountable
"When the adults [i.e., birds] of both sexes have a distinct winter and summer plumage, whether or not the male differs from the female, the young resemble the adults of both sexes in their winter dress or much more rarely in their summer dress, or they resemble the females alone; or the young may have an intermediate character; or again they may differ greatly from the adults in both their seasonal plumages."
12
The appearance of an object after it has undergone some process or treatment to fit or prepare it for use; finish. broadly, countable, uncountable
13
The external appearance of something, especially if intended to give a positive impression; garb, guise. broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Sir, although / VVe may be ſaid to vvant the guilt, and trappings, / The dreſſe of Honor; yet vve ſtriue to keepe, / The ſeedes, and the Materialls."
14
The system of furrows on the face of a millstone. archaic, broadly, countable, historical, uncountable
15
The act of applying a dressing to or otherwise treating a wound; also, the dressing so applied. countable, obsolete, uncountable

Verb

1
To put clothes (or, formerly, armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe. also, figuratively, reflexive, transitive
"He was dressed in the latest fashions."
2
arrange attractively wordnet
3
To put clothes (or, formerly, armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe.; To attire (oneself or someone) for a particular (especially formal) occasion, or in a fashionable manner. also, figuratively, reflexive, specifically, transitive
"[A]ll the men there shoulde dresse themselves like the poorest sorte of the people in Arcadia, having no banners, but bloudie shirtes hanged upon long staves, […]"
4
dress or groom with elaborate care wordnet
5
To design, make, provide, or select clothes (for someone). transitive
"The fashion designer was proud to have dressed the queen for the charity event."

Show 42 more definitions

6
dress in a certain manner wordnet
7
To arrange or style (someone's hair). transitive
"[Domitian] after his manner, with a cheerfull countenance and grieved heart, received the newes: being inwardly pricked, to think that his later counterfet triumph of Germany, wherin certain ſlaves bought for mony were attired and their haire dreſſed as captives of that country, was had in deriſion and iuſtly skorned abroad: […]"
8
give a neat appearance to wordnet
9
To adorn or ornament (something). also, figuratively, transitive
"It was time to dress the windows for Christmas again."
10
put on clothes wordnet
11
To adorn or ornament (something).; To arrange a display of goods in, or to decorate (a shop or shop window). also, figuratively, transitive
12
provide with clothes or put clothes on wordnet
13
To adorn or ornament (something).; To ornament (a ship) by hoisting the national colours at the peak and mastheads, and setting the jack forward; when "dressed full", the signal flags and pennants are added. also, figuratively, transitive
14
apply a bandage or medication to wordnet
15
To apply a dressing to or otherwise treat (a wound); (obsolete) to give (a wounded person) medical aid. transitive
"[T]he Mayd / His readie vvound with better ſalues new dreſt, / Daily ſhe dreſſed him, and did the beſt / His grieuous hurt to guariſh, that ſhe might, […]"
16
convert into leather wordnet
17
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready. transitive
"Now when the towne his ſommonds did diſdain, / To conquer it perforce he plyde his pain: / And their, th’Inginers haue the Trepan dreſt, / And reared vp the Ramme for batterie beſt: […]"
18
kill and prepare for market or consumption wordnet
19
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.; To prepare, treat, or curry (animal hide or leather). transitive
"The ſkinnes of Dogges are dreſſed for gloues, and cloſe Bootes, the vvhich are vſed by ſuch as haue vicerous and ſvvelling Legges or Limbes, for by them the aflicted place receiueth a double reliefe; firſt, it reſiſteth the influent humors, and ſecondly, it is not exaſperated with VVoollen."
20
cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width wordnet
21
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.; To prepare by any of many types of physical processing (e.g., breaking, crushing, sorting, sieving, controlled burning or heating). especially, transitive
"in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores by sorting and separating them"
22
put a finish on wordnet
23
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.; To prepare the surface of (a material, such as lumber or stone; a grindstone or grinding wheel). transitive
24
cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of wordnet
25
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.; To remove chaff or impurities from (flour, grain, etc.) by bolting or sifting, winnowing, and other methods. England, historical, regional, transitive
26
put a dressing on wordnet
27
To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.; To prepare (an artificial fly) to be attached to a fish hook. transitive
28
provide with decoration wordnet
29
To cultivate or tend to (a garden, land, plants, etc.); especially, to add fertilizer or manure to (soil); to fertilize, to manure. transitive
"Gard[ener]. Oh what pitie is it that he had not ſo trimde, / And dreſt his land as vve this garden at time of yeare / Do vvound the barke, the skinne of our fruit trees, […] Queene. Oh I am preſt to death through vvant of ſpeaking / Thou old Adams likeneſſe ſet to dreſſe this garden, / How dares thy harſh rude tong ſound this vnpleaſing nevvs?"
30
decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods wordnet
31
To cut up (an animal or its flesh) for food. transitive
"But as he dressed the carcass—cutting it up to bring home—Borg’s gratitude gave way to revulsion. When he tried to extract the liver, which should have been firm and meaty, it deliquesced into a bloody sludge, sliding goopily through his fingers."
32
arrange in ranks wordnet
33
To prepare (food) for cooking or eating, especially by seasoning it; specifically, to add a dressing or sauce (to food, especially a salad). transitive
"Old vvom[an]: [O]nce vppon a time his daughter was ſtollen avvay, and hee ſent ſo long, that he ſent all his men out of his Land. / Frol[icke]: VVho dreſt his dinner then?"
34
To design, make, or prepare costumes (for a play or other performance); also, to present (a production) in a particular costume style. transitive
35
To prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc. transitive
"Mallory, all night long, single-handedly painted and dressed the set so that at eight o'clock Sunday morning when we arrived to make breakfast in the kitchen, there she was sound asleep on the davenport in the set, every prop in place."
36
To arrange (soldiers or troops) into proper formation; especially, to adjust (soldiers or troops) into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other; to align. transitive
"to dress the ranks"
37
To treat (someone) in a particular manner; specifically, in an appropriate or fitting manner; (by extension, ironic) to give (someone) a deserved beating; also, to give (someone) a good scolding; to dress down. Northern-England, archaic, transitive
"[...] I say, bid come before vs Angelo: What figure of vs thinke you, he will beare. For you must know, we haue with speciall soule Elected him our absence to supply; Lent him our terror, drest him with our loue, And giuen his Deputation all the Organs Of our owne powre: What thinke you of it?"
38
To break in and train (a horse or other animal) for use. obsolete, transitive
"Oh how it ernd my hart when I beheld, / In London ſtreetes, that Coronation day, / VVhen Bullingbroke rode on Roane Barbarie. / That horſe, that thou ſo often haſt beſtride. / That horſe, that I ſo carefully haue dreſt."
39
To prepare (oneself); to make ready. intransitive, obsolete, reflexive
"[S]yr Gawayns ſpere brak ⸝ but ſir marhaus ſpere helde ⸝ And therwith ſyre Gawayne and his hors ruſſhed doune to the erthe ⸝ And lyghtly ſyre Gawayne roſe on his feet ⸝ and pulled out his ſwerd ⸝ and dreſſyd hym toward syr Marhaus on foote ⸝ […]"
40
To put on clothes. intransitive
"I rose and dressed before daybreak. It’s very cold out. Dress warm."
41
To put on clothes.; To attire oneself for a particular (especially formal) occasion, or in a fashionable manner. intransitive, specifically
"They returned home early to dress for dinner."
42
Of a thing: to attain a certain condition after undergoing some process or treatment to fit or prepare it for use. intransitive
43
To allow one's penis to fall to one side or the other within one's trousers. euphemistic, intransitive
"While measuring him for his trousers, the tailor asked him if he dressed to the left or the right."
44
Ellipsis of cross-dress. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, intransitive, slang
45
Of an animal carcass: to have a certain quantity or weight after removal of the internal organs and skin; also, to have a certain appearance after being cut up and prepared for cooking. intransitive
46
Of soldiers or troops: to arrange into proper formation; especially, to form into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other. imperative, intransitive, sometimes
"Right, dress!"
47
Of a sportsperson: to put on the uniform and have the equipment needed to play a sport. intransitive
"Due to a left ankle sprain, the basketball player did not dress for the game against Indiana."

Etymology

Etymology 1

PIE word *dwís The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *dīrēctiāre (“to guide, direct”), from Classical Latin dīrēctus, whence English direct. The noun is derived from the verb.

Etymology 2

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