dress definition
Overview
This page has 23 definitions of dress in English and Norwegian Bokmål. Dress is a verb and noun. Examples of how to use dress in a sentence are shown. Also define these 34 related words and terms: clothe, clothes, sports, transitive, intransitive, uniform, season, prepare, adorn, ornament, nautical, jack, theater, film, television, set, prop, scenery, treat, surface, material, manure, bolt, sift, flour, military, clothing, skirt, apparel, furrow, millstone, dress rehearsal, suit, and dresse.
English dress definition
Etymology
From Middle English dressen, from Old French dresser, drescer, drecier (“to erect, set up, arrange, dress”), from Medieval Latin *directiō, an assumed frequentative, from Latin directus (“straight, direct”), perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). See direct.
Pronunciation
Verb
dress (third-person singular simple present dresses, present participle dressing, simple past dressed, past participle dressed or (obsolete) drest)
- (transitive) To fit out with the necessary clothing; to clothe, put clothes on (something or someone). [from 15thc.]
- He was dressed in the latest fashions.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess[1]:
- ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.
- (intransitive) To clothe oneself; to put on clothes. [from 18thc.]
- I rose and dressed before daybreak. It's very cold out. Dress warm.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
- (sports, transitive, intransitive) To put on the uniform and equipment necessary to play the game.
- Due to a left ankle sprain, Kobe Bryant did not dress for the game against Indiana
Intransitive definition
not transitive: not having, or not taking, a direct object (1 of 2 intransitive definitions)
- (intransitive, euphemistic) Of a man, to allow the genitals to fall to one side or other within the trousers. [from 20thc.]
- Does sir dress to the right or the left?
- (transitive) To prepare (food) for cooking, especially by seasoning it. [from 15thc.]
- c. 1590, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene 3,[2]
- Here, love; thou seest how diligent I am,
- To dress thy meat myself, and bring it thee:
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, lines 142-143,[3]
- OLD WOMAN. […] he sent all his men out of his Land.
- FROLICKE. Who drest his dinner then?
- c. 1590, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene 3,[2]
- (obsolete, reflexive, intransitive) To prepare oneself; to make ready. [14th-16thc.]
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter xviij, in Le Morte Darthur, book IV:
- but syr 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
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter xviij, in Le Morte Darthur, book IV:
- To adorn, ornament. [from 15thc.]
- It was time to dress the windows for Christmas again.
- ?, Alfred Tennyson, The Merman
- dressing their hair with the white sea flower
- 1884, James Anthony Froude, Life of Carlyle
- If he felt obliged to expostulate, he might have dressed his censures in a kinder form.
Adorn definition
To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
Ornament definition
An element of decoration; that which embellishes or adorns. (1 of 5 ornament definitions)
- (nautical) 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.
- (transitive, theater, film, television) To prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc.
- 2012, Marvin Silbersher, A Fistful of Stars (page 106)
- 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.
Theater definition
A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on. (1 of 7 theater definitions)
Film definition
A thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity. (1 of 5 film definitions)
Television definition
An electronic communication medium that allows the transmission of real-time visual images, and often sound. (1 of 4 television definitions)
Prop definition
An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. (1 of 3 prop definitions)
- 2012, Marvin Silbersher, A Fistful of Stars (page 106)
- (transitive) To treat (a wound, or wounded person). [from 15thc.]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.5:
- Daily she dressed him, and did the best / His grievous hurt to guarish, that she might […].
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:
- […] he was deadly pale, and the blood-stained bandage round his head told that he had recently been wounded, and still more recently dressed.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.5:
- To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- to dress leather or cloth; to dress a garden; to dress grain, by cleansing it; in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores, by sorting and separating them
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Exodus 30:7:
- When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense.
- 1697, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:
- three hundred horses […] smoothly dressed
- (transitive) To prepare the surface of (a material; usually stone or lumber).
Material definition
Having to do with matter; consisting of matter. (1 of 3 material definitions)
- (transitive) To manure (land).
Manure definition
To cultivate by manual labor; to till; hence, to develop by culture. (1 of 2 manure definitions)
- (transitive) To bolt or sift flour.
Bolt definition
A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw. (1 of 14 bolt definitions)
- (military, transitive, intransitive, sometimes imperative) To arrange in exact continuity of line, as soldiers; commonly to adjust to a straight line and at proper distance; to align.
- to dress the ranks
- Right, dress!
Military definition
Characteristic of members of the armed forces. (1 of 4 military definitions)
- To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal.
Synonyms
- (clothe (something or somebody)): clothe, don; see also Thesaurus:clothe
- (clothe oneself): get dressed
- (prepare the surface of):
- (bandage (a wound)): bandage, put a bandage on, put a dressing on
Antonyms
- (clothe (something or somebody): strip, undress
- (clothe oneself): disrobe, get undressed, strip, undress
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun
dress (countable and uncountable, plural dresses)
- (countable) An item of clothing (usually worn by a woman or young girl) which both covers the upper part of the body and includes skirts below the waist.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 2, in The China Governess[4]:
- Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet.
- Amy and Mary looked very pretty in their dresses.
Clothing definition
present participle of clothe
Skirt definition
An article of clothing, usually worn by women and girls, that hangs from the waist and covers the lower part of the body. (1 of 9 skirt definitions)
- (uncountable) Apparel, clothing.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess[5]:
- Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.
- He came to the party in formal dress.
- The system of furrows on the face of a millstone.
Furrow definition
A trench cut in the soil, as when plowed in order to plant a crop. (1 of 3 furrow definitions)
- A dress rehearsal.
Dress Rehearsal definition
A rehearsal prior to a public spectacle, where all the performers are in costume. (1 of 2 dress rehearsal definitions)
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Japanese: ドレス (doresu)
- → Korean: 드레스 (deureseu)
- → Norwegian: dress
- → Pennsylvania German: Dress
- → Scottish Gaelic: dreasa
Translations
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See also
Further reading
-
dress on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - dress in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- dress in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.
- dress at OneLook Dictionary Search
- “dress” in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press.
- “dress” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
- dress (adjective) in Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary
Norwegian Bokmål dress definition
Etymology 1
From English dress (verb: kle på seg)
Noun
dress m (definite singular dressen, indefinite plural dresser, definite plural dressene)
- (clothing) a suit (either formal wear, or leisure or sports wear)
Suit definition
A set of clothes to be worn together, now especially a man's matching jacket and trousers (also business suit or lounge suit), or a similar outfit for a woman. (1 of 13 suit definitions)
Etymology 2
Verb
dress
- imperative of dresse
Dresse definition
first-person singular present indicative of dresser (1 of 5 dresse definitions)
References
- “dress” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk dress definition
Etymology
From English dress (verb: kle på seg)
Noun
dress m (definite singular dressen, indefinite plural dressar, definite plural dressane)
- (clothing) a suit (either formal wear, or leisure or sports wear)
References
- “dress” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.