I. un ‧ dress 1 /ʌnˈdres/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ dress , ↑ dresser , ↑ dressing ; adjective : ↑ dressed ≠ ↑ undressed , ↑ dressy ; verb : ↑ dress ≠ ↑ undress ]
to take your clothes off, or take someone else’s clothes off:
Matt undressed and got into bed.
Joe still needs an adult to undress him.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say get undressed rather than undress :
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You can get undressed in here.
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THESAURUS
▪ undress/get undressed to take off all your clothes, especially before going to bed. Get undressed is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
She got undressed and went to bed.
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Em felt uncomfortable undressing in front of other people.
▪ take something off/remove to remove a piece of clothing. Remove is more formal than take off :
'It’s warm in here,' said Michael, taking off his jacket.
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Take your shoes off before you come in.
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Police officers told him to remove his clothes.
▪ strip (off) to take off all or some of your clothes – used especially when you do this quickly, when someone has ordered you to do it, or in a way that is deliberately sexually exciting:
Ben stripped off and got into the shower.
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She stripped off her clothes and lay on the bed.
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The women in the club screamed and clapped as the male dancers began to strip.
▪ get changed to take off your clothes and put on different clothes:
The boys ran up the stairs to get changed.
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I’ll be ready in a second, I just have to get changed.
▪ undo to open a piece of clothing that is fastened:
He started to undo his shirt.
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Amy was struggling to undo her belt.
II. undress 2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
formal when you are wearing few or no clothes:
Cindy was wandering about her room in a state of undress.