underdress
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
garments worn beneath others; underclothes.
-
a slip, petticoat, or other underskirt, especially one designed to be seen when worn, as beneath a redingote.
Etymology
Origin of underdress
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:
An underdress of heavy fleece wool and waterproof canvas is worn inside, the rubber canvas trousers, with pockets, outside.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wasn't about to underdress for the occasion.
From Time Magazine Archive
Eleanor was kneeling on the window-seat where she sometimes slept, her bright braids falling over her white linen underdress and gown of soft blue wool.
From Masters of the Guild by L. Lamprey
He must be just defunct, for the purgatorial garments fit him not, he stumbles at every step, and when he trips an underdress is unveiled that's like a City waiter's.
From The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 by Harry Furniss
There was a soft wool underdress of creamiest tint.
From The Heart of the Desert Kut-Le of the Desert by Honoré Morrow
That brings me back to the incident many years ago, as I stood in the Russian woods with my friend, underdressed and with my teeth beginning to chatter.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
A friend who was at the party with me recalls that, as underdressed as he was, Epstein pulled everyone’s focus to him—even the most powerful people in the room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
When her rival, Poot’s Thea, arrives underdressed, Hedda forces her into a hideous frock with fussy bows and an ungainly skirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
I wasn’t the most underdressed belle at the ball, though; I saw four women wearing what I can only surmise were American flag beach cover-ups.
From Slate ● Nov. 21, 2023
Even wearing Jesse’s shirt I felt underdressed compared to Audrey.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
His biggest etiquette pet peeves include underdressing and overfamiliarity, especially in virtual settings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Avoid the gruesome pitfalls of overdressing or underdressing.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2012
Last week, after three winters of wartime underdressing, U.S. partygoers were back in evening clothes.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I can't ever put on all those other things," he declared, indicating the elaborate underdressing.
From The Wrong Twin by Harry Leon Wilson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
