# dress

Pronunciation: say "DRES" US /dɹɛs/, UK /dɹes/

## Noun

1. A garment for women or girls that covers the upper body and includes a skirt extending below the waist.
   - Simple: A piece of clothing for girls or women that covers the top and has a skirt below the waist.
   - _She bought a new dress for the wedding._
   - _The dress had long sleeves and a flowing skirt._
3. Clothing or apparel, especially that which is appropriate for a particular occasion, profession, or setting.
   - Simple: Clothing, especially the kind that suits a certain event or job.
   - _Guests arrived in elegant evening dress._
   - _Military dress varies according to rank and ceremony._
8. Short for dress rehearsal: a full practice of a show, usually in costume and often the last practice before opening. — Ellipsis of dress rehearsal.
   - Simple: Short form of dress rehearsal. It means the full practice performance, in costume, before opening night.
   - _Opening is tomorrow, but dress went smoothly last night._
   - _The cast ran a complete dress before the critics arrived._
13. The outward appearance of something, especially when intended to create a favorable impression; its garb or guise.
   - Simple: The outside look of something, especially when meant to make a good impression.
   - _The proposal was the same old idea in fresh dress._
   - _Propaganda often wears the dress of objective reporting._
19. The external covering of an animal, such as a bird's feathers, or of an object.
   - Simple: The outer covering of an animal or thing, like a bird's feathers.
   - _The swan's dress of white feathers gleamed on the dark water._
   - _By October the forest had put on a dress of red and gold._

## Verb

2. To put clothes on oneself, another person, or a doll or mannequin.
   - Simple: To put clothes on yourself, someone else, or a doll.
   - _Nurses dress patients who cannot manage on their own._
   - _He dressed the mannequin in the shop window._
4. To clothe oneself or another person in a particular style, or in a way that suits a particular occasion.
   - Simple: To wear clothes, or choose someone's clothes, for a particular occasion or in a particular style.
   - _For the job interview, he dressed in a plain navy suit and polished black shoes._
   - _Parents often dress their kids in formal outfits for weddings._
5. To prepare food for cooking or eating by seasoning it, or to add a dressing or sauce to it, especially a salad.
   - Simple: To add sauce, oil, or seasoning to food, especially a salad.
   - _The chef dressed the salad with a light vinaigrette._
   - _Cooks usually dress the leaves just before serving to keep them crisp._
10. To clean a wound and apply a protective covering to it, or otherwise treat it.
   - Simple: To clean and cover a wound so it can heal.
   - _Medics dressed the soldier's injuries on the battlefield._
   - _Always dress a burn with sterile gauze._
6. Of an athlete: to put on the uniform and equipment required to take part in a sporting contest.
   - Simple: To put on the team uniform and gear so you can play in a game.
   - _Three rookies dressed for their first professional match._
   - _Players who fail a fitness test cannot dress for the game._
7. To decorate or arrange something to improve its appearance, such as a street, a shop window display, or a stage or film set.
   - Simple: To decorate a place or arrange things in it so it looks good, like a shop window or a stage.
   - _The town dresses its main street with flags and banners every Fourth of July._
   - _Florists dress the altar before every ceremony._
11. To arrange, style, or set another person's hair into a particular form.
   - Simple: To comb and arrange someone's hair into a style.
   - _A skilled attendant dressed the bride's hair with pearls._
   - _In period dramas, maids dress their mistresses' hair elaborately._
9. Short for cross-dress: to wear clothing usually associated with the other sex. *(slang)* — Ellipsis of cross-dress.
   - Simple: Short for cross-dress: to wear clothes usually worn by the other sex.
   - _Among close friends, he likes to dress, slipping into a gown and heels for the evening._
   - _Long before he came out to his friends, he would dress at home on weekends, trying on his sister's old skirts and heels._
12. To design, make, choose, or supply the clothes that someone wears, including the costumes for a play or other production.
   - Simple: To choose, make, or provide the clothes someone wears, or the costumes for a show.
   - _The boutique dresses several local celebrities._
   - _It costs a lot to dress three growing kids these days._
14. To clean and cut up an animal carcass so it is ready for cooking; (of a carcass) to weigh a certain amount once prepared this way.
   - Simple: To clean and cut up a dead animal for cooking. Also, to weigh a certain amount after this.
   - _The butcher dressed the carcass within an hour of slaughter._
   - _Workers dress hundreds of birds daily at the processing plant._
15. To cultivate or tend a garden, land, or plants, especially by adding fertilizer or manure to the soil.
   - Simple: To care for soil or plants, often by adding fertilizer or manure.
   - _Gardeners dress the soil with compost to enrich it before sowing._
   - _Each spring, the farmer dressed his fields with manure before sowing the corn._
16. To arrange soldiers in straight, evenly spaced lines, or (of soldiers) to move into such a formation.
   - Simple: To put soldiers into straight, even lines, or for soldiers to get into straight lines.
   - _The drill instructor dressed the line until every shoulder fell exactly even._
   - _Corporals dress their squads before the general's inspection._
17. To fit or prepare something for use, making it suitable for its intended purpose.
   - Simple: To get something ready and make it fit for a certain use.
   - _Before sharpening the chisels, the machinist dressed the grinding wheel so its face was flat and clean again._
   - _An old fly fisherman showed me how to dress a fly line with grease so it would float._
18. To treat or process a raw material so it is ready for use, for example by smoothing stone or timber, crushing and sorting ore, or preparing leather.
   - Simple: To work on a raw material like stone, wood, ore, or leather so it is ready to use.
   - _Stonemasons dress each block so the wall sits true and level._
   - _At the quarry, masons dressed the rough blocks into smooth stones for the new library._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The appearance or finish of an object after it has been processed or treated to make it ready for use.
- (verb) Of a thing: to reach a particular condition after undergoing a process or treatment that prepares it for use.
- (verb) To decorate a ship for a celebration by flying national flags from its masts, adding rows of signal flags for a full display.
- (verb) To clean grain or flour of husks and other unwanted matter by sifting or winnowing it.
- (verb) To tie feathers, thread and other materials onto a hook to make a fishing fly.
- (verb) To deal with someone as they deserve, often ironically meaning to beat or scold them severely.
- (verb) To school a young horse, or another working beast, until it can be ridden or put to use.
- (verb) To get oneself ready for something.
- (verb) Of a man, to wear his genitals on the left or right side inside his trousers, a matter tailors allow for.
- (noun) An outer garment or outfit, for a person of any sex, usually decorative and suited to a given event, job or role.
- (noun) The act of getting dressed, especially in stylish clothes or for a specific occasion, often a formal one.
- (noun) The arrangement of channels cut across a millstone's grinding face to carry flour outward.
- (noun) The cleaning and covering of a wound, or the bandage or pad put on it.

## Origin

The verb comes from Middle English dressen or dresse ('to arrange, put in order'), which came via Anglo-Norman and Old French dresser or drecier from Late Latin *directiare ('to guide, direct'). It is a doublet of direct, and the noun is derived from the verb.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dress (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).