What does "dresser" mean?
An item of kitchen furniture, like a cabinet with shelves, for storing crockery or utensils.
Dresser
name, noun
name, noun ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An item of kitchen furniture, like a cabinet with shelves, for storing crockery or utensils.
- Grammar: dresser is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: bureau, chest, chest of drawers, actor's assistant.
- Useful contrasts: clothing rack, undresser.
- Usage evidence: The teacher is counted the best dresser in our school.
How to use "dresser"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dresser" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dresser" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dresser" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dresser" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dresser" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bureau" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dresser", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An item of kitchen furniture, like a cabinet with shelves, for storing crockery or utensils. UK
"The pewter plates on the dresser / Caught and reflected the flame, as shields of armies the sunshine."
- 2 One who dresses in a particular way.
"He's a very snappy dresser."
- 3 furniture with drawers for keeping clothes wordnet
- 4 An item of bedroom furniture, like a low chest of drawers (bureau), often with a mirror. US
- 5 A wardrobe assistant (who helps actors put on their costume).
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 a cabinet with shelves wordnet
- 7 A servant to royalty etc. who helps them with tasks such as dressing.
"In the Queen's coach are the Queen's stateroom and bathroom, the Royal Family lounge, lady-in-waiting's compartment and bathroom, and dresser's room."
- 8 low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeup wordnet
- 9 A surgeon's assistant who helps to dress wounds etc.
"On the very day that I had come to this conclusion, I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under me at Bart's."
- 10 a wardrobe assistant for an actor wordnet
- 11 A football hooligan who wears designer clothing; a casual. UK
"Because we were the first by a long way to turn trendy, we're still the only dressers in Scotland and our enemies were easily recognised: denims and DM's, skinheads and parkas."
- 12 a person who dresses in a particular way wordnet
- 13 A mechanical device used in grain mills for bolting.
- 14 A mechanical device used in ore mills for dressing (e.g., comminution, sorting, sifting).
"ore dresser"
- 15 A table or bench on which meat and other things are dressed, or prepared for use. dated
- 16 A kind of pick for shaping large coal.
- 17 One who dresses or prepares stone.
"At the dressing sheds the slate-dresser saws the blocks into various sizes and then splits the smaller units into sheets."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
clothing rackundresser
Example
"The teacher is counted the best dresser in our school."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dresser"?
Common synonyms include: bureau, chest, chest of drawers, actor's assistant, attendant, bureaus.
How do you use "dresser" in a sentence?
The teacher is counted the best dresser in our school.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dressure, dressor, dressour, a borrowing from Old French drecëur, drecëure, from the verb dresser.
Etymology 2
From Middle English dresser, equivalent to dress + -er.