/ dres; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
CLOTHES
1.
[ C ] a piece of women's clothing that is made in one piece and covers the body down to the legs, sometimes reaching to below the knees, or to the ankles :
a long white dress
a wedding dress
—see also cocktail dress , evening dress , sundress
2.
[ U ] clothes for either men or women :
to wear casual / formal dress
He has no dress sense (= no idea of how to dress well) .
—see also evening dress , fancy dress , headdress , morning dress
■ verb
CLOTHES
1.
dress (sb) (in sth) to put clothes on yourself/sb :
[ v ]
I dressed quickly.
[ vn ]
She dressed the children in their best clothes.
Get up and get dressed !
OPP undress
2.
[ v ] dress (sb) (for / in / as sth) to wear a particular type or style of clothes :
to dress well / badly / fashionably / comfortably
You should dress for cold weather today.
She always dressed entirely in black.
He was dressed as a woman (= he was wearing women's clothes) .
➡ note at clothes
3.
[ v ] to put on formal clothes :
Do they expect us to dress for dinner?
4.
[ vn ] to provide clothes for sb :
He dresses many of Hollywood's most famous young stars.
WOUND
5.
[ vn ] to clean, treat and cover a wound :
The nurse will dress that cut for you.
FOOD
6.
[ vn ] to prepare food for cooking or eating :
to dress a salad (= put oil or vinegar , etc. on it)
to dress a chicken (= take out the parts you cannot eat)
DECORATE
7.
[ vn ] ( formal ) to decorate or arrange sth :
to dress a shop window (= arrange a display of clothes or goods in it)
STONE / WOOD / LEATHER
8.
[ vn ] to prepare a material such as stone, wood, leather, etc. for use
•
IDIOMS
see mutton , part noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- dress down
- dress sb down
- dress up
- dress up | dress sb up
- dress sth up
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense put straight ): from Old French dresser arrange, prepare, based on Latin directus direct, straight.