to attire (oneself or another) in one's best clothes
to put fancy dress, disguise, etc, on (oneself or another), as in children's games
let's dress up as ghosts!
(tr) to improve the appearance or impression of
it's no good trying to dress up the facts
Wear formal or elaborate clothes, as in I love to dress up for a party . [Late 1600s] For the antonym, see dress down , def. 2.
Put on a costume of some kind, as in The children love dressing up as witches and goblins . [Late 1800s]
Adorn or disguise something in order to make it more interesting or appealing. For example, She has a way of dressing up her account with fanciful details . [Late 1600s]
First recorded in 1665–75; noun, adj. use of verb phrase dress up
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A venue in Rotterdam turned itself over to fantasy dress-up and gamer fanaticism on the weekend, with thousands attending TwitchCon Europe.
From Barron's ● May 30, 2026
I imagine the A.I. bot like a child playing dress-up, donning an oversized blazer and glasses for a game of “businessman.”
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
Or ignore it all to play dress-up and get a groove on to the music that never stops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
But the display is tiny, the neural-band bracelet control is too fiddly and the glasses themselves make me look like a kid playing dress-up with her dad’s ’70s eyewear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
I’m wearing a black dress and a cloak, from the dress-up cupboard.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
This was the game that we got tickets for, so we decided to dress up a little bit and have some fun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
He asked about Jordan's prisoner costume, and Jordan said Will told him he didn't need to dress up like a prisoner to look like a criminal.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Seeing moviegoers dress up, sing, dance in the aisles, and fully lean into this as a cultural moment underscores this film as a true communal, big-screen theatrical and cinematic event.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
In reality, it’s a cover story people use to dress up views — like advocating teen pregnancy — they can’t argue for directly in public.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026
She would rather dress up her Bratz or watch cartoons.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
