the formal attire customarily worn in the evening, usually consisting of black tailcoats and white bow ties for men, and floor-length dresses for women.
a ceremonial style of dress.
formal and complete in all details.
a full-dress uniform.
done or presented completely or thoroughly.
First recorded in 1755–65
First recorded in 1755–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Freezing weather meant Nasa had to postpone the first full dress rehearsal as it was too cold to fuel the SLS rocket.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
She met her future husband while appearing with him in operas in which she had only seen him in full dress in elderly roles.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2023
But to see him in full dress and going full go was impressive.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2021
“If they came here, they would be in full dress and would be uncomfortable because people are in bathing suits and drinking.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2019
By six A.M. he’s in the hotel lobby in full dress, polish on his shoes, pistol case snapped shut.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
“Any full-dress ruling would likely not come until the next term.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
She is not, in short, a prime candidate for a full-dress biography, yet somehow Carrie Courogen has pulled it off.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
The Fightin’ Gator Marching Band drilled one sweltering afternoon in anticipation of its first full-dress, on-field halftime show since 2019.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021
This vivid, informed account of his life and times was the catalog to the 2017 full-dress retrospective that Ms. Landauer organized at the Oakland Museum of California.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2020
Everyone is peevish and touchy, we do not take kindly to all this polishing, much less to the full-dress parades.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
