sundress

American

[suhn-dres] / ˈsʌnˌdrɛs /

noun

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

sundress British

/ ˈsʌnˌdrɛs /

noun

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

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.

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

“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

The bride wore a sundress and a veil she picked out moments earlier and the groom a black button-down with a fresh haircut from his family’s salon down the street.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2023

The black and white photo showed a woman in a striped sundress and headscarf holding a little boy in her lap.

From Fox News • Dec. 12, 2021

The bottom of her light green sundress flows as she spins around.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023