Dress (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

noun

an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.
clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful.
formal attire.
a particular form of appearance; guise.
outer covering, as the plumage of birds.

adjective

verb (used with object), dressed or (Obsolete) drest, dress·ing.

to put clothing upon.
to put formal or evening clothes on.
to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.
to design clothing for or sell clothes to.
to comb out and do up (hair).
to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often followed by out when referring to a large animal): We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.
to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.
to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).
to make straight; bring (troops) into line: to dress ranks.
to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.
to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).
to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.
to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.
Angling.

to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.

verb (used without object), dressed or (Obsolete), drest, dress·ing.

Verb Phrases

to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally: They were dressed up for the Easter parade.
to dress in costume or in another person's clothes: to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette.
to embellish or disguise, especially in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.

Idioms

to decorate a ship by hoisting lines of flags running its full length.
to display the national ensigns at each masthead and a larger ensign on the flagstaff.

verb

to provide (someone) with clothing; clothe
to arrange merchandise in (a shop window) for effective display
to comb out or arrange (the hair) into position
to apply protective or therapeutic covering to (a wound, sore, etc)
to prepare (food, esp fowl and fish) for cooking or serving by cleaning, trimming, gutting, etc
to put a finish on (the surface of stone, metal, etc)
to till and cultivate (land), esp by applying manure, compost, or fertilizer
to prune and trim (trees, bushes, etc)
to groom (an animal, esp a horse)
to convert (tanned hides) into leather
to spay or neuter (an animal)
to tie (a fly)
to bring (troops) into line or (of troops) to come into line (esp in the phrase dress ranks)
to decorate a vessel by displaying all signal flags on lines run from the bow to the stern over the mast trucks

noun

AllDefiNitions