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.

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sundress British  

/ ˈsʌnˌdrɛs /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sundresses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sundress

First recorded in 1940–45; sun + dress

Example Sentences

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

Dressed in a billowy sundress on a Friday afternoon in February, she walked around to the front of my car and eyed up the scuff marks near one headlight.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2022

Half a block from the station, a cab pulled over on our side of the street and let out a passenger—a woman wearing a patterned sundress.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks