dress

1 of 3

verb

dressed; dressing; dresses

transitive verb

1
a
: to make or set straight
b
: to arrange (troops, equipment, etc.) in a straight line and at proper intervals
2
: to prepare for use or service
specifically : to prepare for cooking or for the table
dress a salad
3
: to add decorative details or accessories to : embellish
4
a
: to put clothes on
dress a child
b
: to provide with clothing
feed and dress a growing family
5
archaic : dress down
6
a
: to apply dressings or medicaments to
dress a wound
b(1)
: to arrange (the hair) by combing, brushing, or curling
(2)
: to groom and curry (an animal)
c
: to kill and prepare for market or for consumption
often used with out
d
: cultivate, tend
especially : to apply manure or fertilizer to
dress a field
e
: to put through a finishing process
especially : to trim and smooth the surface of (a material, such as lumber or stone)

intransitive verb

1
a
: to put on clothing
b
: to put on or wear formal, elaborate, or fancy clothes
dress for dinner
2
of a food animal : to weigh after being dressed
often used with out
3
: to align oneself with the next soldier in a line to make the line straight

dress

2 of 3

noun

1
2
: an outer garment (as for a woman or girl) usually consisting of a one-piece bodice and skirt
3
: covering, adornment, or appearance appropriate or peculiar to a particular time
4
: a particular form of presentation : guise

dress

3 of 3

adjective

1
: suitable for a formal occasion
dress clothes
dress shoes
2
: requiring or permitting formal dress
a dress affair
3
: relating to or used for a dress
dress material
Phrases
dress ship
: to ornament a ship for a celebration by hoisting national ensigns at the mastheads and running a line of signal flags and pennants from bow to stern

Examples of dress in a Sentence

Verb They dressed themselves in a hurry. He dressed the child in a snowsuit. She showered, dressed, and ate breakfast. She dressed warmly for skiing. She is dressing for the opera. They always dress for dinner. The nurse dressed the cut on my knee. Noun She wore dresses only on special occasions. She wore a short black dress to the party. Her wedding dress was decorated with lace. The guests were clothed in traditional Indian dress. It is wise to wear conservative dress to an interview. Adjective I wore dress pants and a nice sweater. the naval commander wore his dress uniform to the ball
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
She was dressed in her winter uniform—monochrome dress, tall black boots—and looked around at the audience. E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024 This is also true in the red carpet sense: Over the years, Noten has dressed some of Hollywood’s finest in floral frocks that are one-of-a-kind. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2024 The key is ignoring their Y2K heyday and instead dressing for now; try shrunken T-shirts, long trenches, and ballet flats to keep things fresh. Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 18 Mar. 2024 Lebanese designers have been dressing glamorous women all over the world for a long time. Allyson Portee, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024 These 9 matching outfit combinations will make family dressing easy—for less than $100 a pair. Terri Peters, Parents, 18 Mar. 2024 Style it with classic white sneakers for a casual day out or dress it up with a pair of your favorite heels and bold accessories for a dinner look. Rachel Simon, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2024 At one point the prosecution played a video showing Mr. Baldwin — dressed as the outlaw Harland Rust — shooting blanks from a revolver while backing away. Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 For its Instagram feed, the crew have leaped over the bow dressed as Thanksgiving turkeys and pulled off impressive kitesurfing jumps. Gemma Harris, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
Posing for pictures beside his bride-to-be, the Bullet Train actor wore a black overcoat and black dress pants. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024 In the visual, Rodrigo rocks a black dress, jagged bangs and deep red lipstick, sticking out in a group of debutantes sporting delicate white gowns. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024 And there are six surviving swatches of that dress stained with Lincoln’s blood. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 During Hilton’s party girl heyday, Lindsay Lohan was also often seen wearing wedges with shredded spray-on jeans or hot pants–her Chanel denim shorts with white Dior patent leather wedges were a personal highlight–while Jessica Alba often paired hers with an elegant dress on the red carpet. Alex Kessler, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024 Toddler Beauty-Pageant Loser Frilly dresses, lacy socks, big Texas hair, your mother’s makeup. Jen Spyra, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024 For his spring 2024 Bally debut, Bellotti nodded to the brand’s history as a leather goods house, sending out men and women in copious amounts of leather: bombers, blazers, trenches, even summer dresses. Laura May Todd, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 The university president, seated next to him in a blue dress, covered her face with her hands. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2024 Her $189 dress from Macy’s was donated by Ben Proudfoot’s filmmaking company, Breakwater Studios. Ashley Ahn, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
Adjective
While Gigi's mid-length dress featured a sheer corset, her sister walked down the runway in an opaque mini-dress version of the look. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 27 Feb. 2022 And within the summer maxi dress umbrella are options for every style and aesthetic; there’s one to delight no matter your style—even a few for the non-dress girls! Madeline Fass, Vogue, 4 May 2021 That's the case even if the job does not require dress clothes. Daniel B. Kline, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2017 Dress code controversies are nothing new, especially in the era of social media. Rafael Guerrero, chicagotribune.com, 29 Aug. 2017 Factor in alterations: Dress alterations can be costly, so talk to your salon about their policy in advance. Emily Valla, idahostatesman, 21 July 2017 Dress-code-busting aside, these are some excellent, just-DGAF-enough outfits. Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 13 July 2017 Dress code double standards not only can make summer unbearable but also serve to police people's gender expression. Suzannah Weiss, Glamour, 23 June 2017 Dress Meets Body collection, which is set in a large funnel-like space with a video of Merce Cunningham’s dancers performing in the clothing by viewers’ feet. Steff Yotka, Vogue, 1 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French drescer, dresser to direct, put right, from Vulgar Latin *directiare, from Latin directus direct, past participle of dirigere to direct, from dis- + regere to lead straight — more at right

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1745, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dress was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near dress

Cite this Entry

“Dress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dress. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dress

1 of 3 verb
1
: to make or set straight
2
a
: to put clothes on
b
: to provide with clothing
c
: to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes
3
: to trim or decorate for display
4
: to put in order
5
a
: to apply dressings or medicine to
dress a wound
b
: to arrange (as the hair) by combing, brushing, or curling
d
: to kill and prepare for market
dress a chicken
e
: to apply manure or fertilizer to
6

dress

2 of 3 noun
1
2
: an outer garment with a skirt for a woman or child
3
: clothing appropriate to a particular time or occasion
Roman dress
evening dress

dress

3 of 3 adjective
1
: suitable or required for a formal occasion
dress clothes
2
: relating to or used for a dress

Medical Definition

dress

verb
: to apply dressings or medicaments to

More from Merriam-Webster on dress

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