dolled up

Idioms

Also, all dolled up. Dressed or fixed up smartly and, often, ostentatiously, usually for a special occasion. For example, There's no need to get all dolled up—it's just a picnic, or They dolled up the classroom for parents' night. This expression alludes to a person or object being as attractive as a pretty doll. It is also put verbally, to doll up, as in I wanted to doll up my apartment before the guests arrived. [Colloquial; c. 1900] Also see gussied up.

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.

His TikTok videos show him tending to horses in the barn, dolled up with his girlfriend at major races placing $5,000 bets and celebrating big wins.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

I don’t think voters would mind boring at all, if it was dolled up with credibility and competence.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

But there is concern the optics of rich celebrities dolled up with smiles on a red carpet could come off as tone deaf.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2025

If not this season to get dolled up, then when?

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2023

I had never seen Miss Love when she wasn’t dolled up like one of those M. Rich & Bros. fashion advertisements in the Atlanta newspapers.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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