Definition of Dress

1. Noun. A one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice.


2. Verb. Put on clothes. "They dress themselves"; "Can the child dress by herself?"

3. Adjective. Suitable for formal occasions. "Dress shoes"
Exact synonyms: Full-dress
Similar to: Formal

4. Noun. Clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion. "Battle dress"

5. Verb. Provide with clothes or put clothes on. "Parents must feed and dress their child"

6. Adjective. (of an occasion) requiring formal clothes. "A full-dress ceremony"
Exact synonyms: Full-dress
Similar to: Formal

7. Noun. Clothing in general. "Fastidious about his dress"
Exact synonyms: Apparel, Clothes, Wearing Apparel
Generic synonyms: Article Of Clothing, Clothing, Habiliment, Vesture, Wear, Wearable
Specialized synonyms: Workwear
Derivative terms: Apparel

8. Verb. Put a finish on. "Dress the surface smooth"
Generic synonyms: Finish

9. Verb. Dress in a certain manner. "He dressed up in a suit and tie"
Exact synonyms: Dress Up
Related verbs: Attire, Deck Out, Deck Up, Dress Up, Fancy Up, Fig Out, Fig Up, Get Up, Gussy Up, Overdress, Prink, Rig Out, Tog Out, Tog Up, Trick Out, Trick Up, Get Dressed
Generic synonyms: Get Dressed
Specialized synonyms: Vest
Derivative terms: Dresser

10. Verb. Dress or groom with elaborate care. "They dress themselves"; "She likes to dress when going to the opera"
Exact synonyms: Plume, Preen, Primp
Generic synonyms: Attire, Deck Out, Deck Up, Dress Up, Fancy Up, Fig Out, Fig Up, Get Up, Gussy Up, Overdress, Prink, Rig Out, Tog Out, Tog Up, Trick Out, Trick Up
Related verbs: Get Dressed
Derivative terms: Primping

11. Verb. Kill and prepare for market or consumption. "Dress a turkey"
Exact synonyms: Dress Out
Entails: Kill
Generic synonyms: Cook, Fix, Make, Prepare, Ready
Related verbs: Garnish, Trim
Derivative terms: Dressing

12. Verb. Arrange in ranks. "Dress troops"
Exact synonyms: Line Up
Generic synonyms: Position

13. Verb. Decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods. "The chefs dress the vegetables"
Exact synonyms: Garnish, Trim
Related verbs: Dress Out
Generic synonyms: Adorn, Beautify, Decorate, Embellish, Grace, Ornament
Derivative terms: Garnish, Garnish, Trim

14. Verb. Provide with decoration. ; "Dress the windows"
Exact synonyms: Decorate
Generic synonyms: Arrange, Set Up
Derivative terms: Decor, Decoration, Decoration, Decorative

15. Verb. Put a dressing on. "The chefs dress the vegetables"; "Dress the salads"
Category relationships: Cookery, Cooking, Preparation
Related verbs: Dress Out, Garnish, Trim
Generic synonyms: Apply, Put On
Derivative terms: Dressing

16. Verb. Cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of. "They dress the trees"; "Dress the plants in the garden"
Exact synonyms: Clip, Crop, Cut Back, Lop, Prune, Snip, Trim
Generic synonyms: Thin Out
Specialized synonyms: Shear, Poll, Pollard, Pinch, Top, Disbud
Derivative terms: Clip, Clipper, Clipping, Crop, Lopper, Pruner, Pruner, Pruning, Snip, Snip, Trim, Trimmer, Trimming

17. Verb. Cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width.
Generic synonyms: Pare, Trim

18. Verb. Convert into leather. "Dress the tanned skins"
Generic synonyms: Convert
Derivative terms: Dressing

19. Verb. Apply a bandage or medication to. "Did he dress his foot? "; "Dress the victim's wounds"
Category relationships: Medicine, Practice Of Medicine
Generic synonyms: Care For, Treat
Specialized synonyms: Plaster, Poultice, Bandage
Derivative terms: Dressing, Dressing

20. Verb. Give a neat appearance to. "They dress the animals"; "Dress the horses"
Exact synonyms: Curry, Groom
Related verbs: Arrange, Coif, Coiffe, Coiffure, Do, Set
Generic synonyms: Beautify, Embellish, Fancify, Prettify
Derivative terms: Groom

21. Verb. Arrange attractively. "They dress their hair "; "Dress my hair for the wedding"
Exact synonyms: Arrange, Coif, Coiffe, Coiffure, Do, Set
Specialized synonyms: Bob, Wave
Generic synonyms: Groom, Neaten
Related verbs: Curry, Groom
Derivative terms: Arrangement, Coiffure, Coiffure

Definition of Dress

1. v. t. To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order.

2. v. i. To arrange one's self in due position in a line of soldiers; -- the word of command to form alignment in ranks; as, Right, dress!

3. n. That which is used as the covering or ornament of the body; clothes; garments; habit; apparel.

Definition of Dress

1. Noun. An item of clothing (usually worn by a woman or young girl) which covers the upper part of the body as well as below the waist. ¹

2. Noun. Apparel, clothing. ¹

3. Noun. The system of furrows on the face of a millstone. ¹

4. Verb. (obsolete reflexive intransitive) To prepare oneself; to make ready. (defdate 14th-16th c.) ¹

5. Verb. To adorn, ornament. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

6. Verb. (transitive) To treat (a wound, or wounded person). (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

7. Verb. (transitive) To prepare (food) for cooking, especially by seasoning it. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

8. Verb. (transitive) To fit out with the necessary clothing; to clothe, put clothes on (something or somebody). (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

9. Verb. (intransitive) To clothe oneself; to put on clothes. (defdate from 18th c.) ¹

10. Verb. (intransitive) Of a man, to allow the genitals to fall ''to'' one side or other of the trousers. (defdate from 20th c.) ¹

11. Verb. (transitive) To prepare the surface of (a material; usually stone or lumber). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Dress

1. to put clothes on [v DRESSED or DREST, DRESSING, DRESSES]

Medical Definition of Dress

1. 1. To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order. "At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to dress thy ways." (Chaucer) Dress is used reflexively in Old English, in sense of "to direct one's step; to addresss one's self." "To Grisild again will I me dresse." (Chaucer) 2. To arrange in exact continuity of line, as soldiers; commonly to adjust to a straight line and at proper distance; to align; as, to dress the ranks. 3. To treat methodically with remedies, bandages, or curative appliances, as a sore, an ulcer, a wound, or a wounded or diseased part. 4. To adjust; to put in good order; to arrange; specifically: To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready; as, to dress a slain animal; to dress meat; to dress leather or cloth; to dress or trim a lamp; to dress a garden; to dress a horse, by currying and rubbing; to dress grain, by cleansing it; in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores, by sorting and separating them. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it." (Gen. Ii. 15) "When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense." (Ex. Xxx. 7) "Three hundred horses . . . Smoothly dressed." (Dryden) "Dressing their hair with the white sea flower." (Tennyson). "If he felt obliged to expostulate, he might have dressed his censures in a kinder form." (Carlyle) To cut to proper dimensions, or give proper shape to, as to a tool by hammering; also, to smooth or finish. To put in proper condition by appareling, as the body; to put clothes upon; to apparel; to invest with garments or rich decorations; to clothe; to deck. "Dressed myself in such humility." (Shak) "Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy return." (Shak) To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal. To dress up or out, to dress elaborately, artificially, or pompously. "You see very often a king of England or France dressed up like a Julius Caesar." . To dress a ship, to ornament her 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. Synonym: To attire, apparel, clothe, accouter, array, robe, rig, trim, deck, adorn, embellish. Origin: OF. Drecier to make straight, raise, set up, prepare, arrange, F. Dresser. (assumed) LL. Directiare, fr. L. Dirigere, directum, to direct; dis- + regere to rule. See Right, and cf. Address, Adroit, Direct, Dirge. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Dress

drenches
drenching
drenchingly
drengage
drengages
drent
drepanidium
drepanocyte
drepanocytic
drepanocytic anaemia
drepanocytic anemia
drere
dreres
dreshel
dreshels
dress'd
dress-down Friday
dress-up party
dress blues
dress circle
dress coat
dress coats
dress code
dress codes
dress down
dress form
dress hanger
dress hat
dress out

Literary usage of Dress

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Contemporary Review (1868)
"Mr. Marriott proposes a modification of this second opinion : that, " in the Primitive Period, of about 400 years, the dress of the Christian ministry was, ..."

2. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876)
"But now, what we have to talk about is a dress for you on Wednesday. ... Stand still, and let us hear what he says about the dress. ..."

3. Roughing It by Mark Twain (2001)
"The poor creatures were beaming with FULL CHURCH dress. complacency and wholly unconscious of any absurdity in their appearance. ..."

4. Bulletin by United States (1918)
"Party dress. B. Selection of material. 1. Suitability to design. 2. ... Use of dress form in draping party dress. F. Process of cutting, basting, fitting, ..."

5. Publicationsby Oxford Historical Society by Oxford Historical Society (1900)
"1661, gay dress of clerics and academics, i. 423. — 1663, womanish dress of men and mannish dress of women, i. 509-10. — 1666, gaudy dress, ii. 96. ..."

6. The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton (1904)
"CHAPTER III How to Fish for, and to dress, ... he may be so dressed as to make him very good meat; as, namely, if he be a large chub, then dress him thus ..."

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