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sundress

American  
[suhn-dres] / ˈsʌnˌdrɛs /

noun

  • sundresses
    plural
  1. a dress with a bodice styled to expose the arms, shoulders, and back, for wear during hot weather.


sundress British  
/ ˈsʌnˌdrɛs /

noun

  1. a dress for hot weather that exposes the shoulders, arms, and back, esp one with straps over the shoulders

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of sundress

First recorded in 1940–45; sun + dress


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Savannah crossed town to the University of Arizona, her alma mater, and strode the quad in sunglasses and a sundress, trailed by the marching band playing the school’s fight song, “Bear Down, Arizona.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Every spring, I get the urge to buy something new: a sundress, a pretty blouse or something hopeful after a long, drab winter.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025

Fischer steps out of the trailer in a sundress, holding a baby monitor showing a sleeping Natasha.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024

“I bought three new pairs of jeans. I wore a sundress for the first time in a decade,” she says.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 16, 2023

Her sundress is a fireworks show of color.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Customers love the firm's massive catalogue of ultra-cheap items, from $8 sundresses to $2 bracelets, at a time when inflation has shrunk purchasing power around the world.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Many wore sundresses, cowboy boots, leopard print and, to comply with tight security, plastic see-through purses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025

Which was, in fact, already set up across the room—it was just covered in sundresses and tops.

From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2025

Although this week’s hot weather may have prompted an early appearance of flip-flops and sundresses, forecasters warn this stretch of heat isn’t indicative of an early start to springtime.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025

If Seanie kept such records, he would easily call that piece of info five out of five J. Edgar Hoover’s in off the shoulder sundresses on the Sean Russell Flaherty Ruin Your Life Rating Scale.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

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