cocktail dress

American  

[kok-teyl dres] / ˈkɒkˌteɪl ˌdrɛs /

noun

1. a semiformal, typically short dress, such as one might wear to a cocktail party.

   With a flouncy knee-length skirt and crisply tailored collar, this satin-organza cocktail dress serves up fun with a dash of formality.

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Example Sentences

"It will be suits and cocktail dresses, and you know me, mysterious mischief, so bring your presents, your presence and your humour!"

From BBC

The big sale includes cocktail dresses worn by the actress and the magazine owner's famed silk smoking jackets.

From BBC

At a New Year’s Eve event in a Sheraton Hotel ballroom in West Des Moines, jeans and cowboy boots outnumbered tuxedos and cocktail dresses, and Miller Lite seemed more popular than champagne.

From Seattle Times

Three society women in cocktail dresses stare up at the camera, each with her right fist raised in the Black Panther salute.

From New York Times

By the mid-1940s, cocktail dresses became a high fashion item, all thanks to Dior's famed design.

From Salon