dress-down

[ dres-doun ]

/ ˈdrɛsˌdaʊn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dress-down ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to or being a policy that allows employees to dress less formally than usual: dress-down days during the summer.

Nearby words

dress shield, dress shirt, dress suit, dress uniform, dress up, dress-down, dress-down friday, dress-up, dressage, dressed, dressed to kill

Definition for dress down (2 of 2)

dress

[ dres ]

/ drɛs /

noun

an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.

clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful.

formal attire.

a particular form of appearance; guise.

outer covering, as the plumage of birds.

adjective

of or for a dress or dresses.

of or for a formal occasion.

requiring formal dress.

verb (used with object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.

to put clothing upon.

to put formal or evening clothes on.

to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.

to design clothing for or sell clothes to.

to comb out and do up (hair).

to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often followed by out when referring to a large animal): We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.

to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.

to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).

to make straight; bring (troops) into line: to dress ranks.

to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.

to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).

Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.

to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.

Angling.

to prepare or bait (a fishhook) for use.
to prepare (bait, especially an artificial fly) for use.

Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.

to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.

verb (used without object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.

to clothe or attire oneself; put on one's clothes: Wake up and dress, now!

to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes: to dress for dinner.

to come into line, as troops.

to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line.

Verb Phrases

dress down,

to reprimand; scold.
to thrash; beat.
to dress informally or less formally: to dress down for the shipboard luau.

dress up,

to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally: They were dressed up for the Easter parade.
to dress in costume or in another person's clothes: to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette.
to embellish or disguise, especially in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.

Origin of dress

1275–1325; Middle English dressen < Anglo-French dresser, dresc(i)er, to arrange, prepare, Old French drecier < Vulgar Latin *dīrēctiāre, derivative of Latin dīrēctus direct; noun use of v. in sense “attire” from circa 1600

SYNONYMS FOR dress

1 frock.

2 raiment, attire, clothes, habit, garments, vestments, habiliments.

9 clothe, robe, garb.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dress ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshalf-dressed, adjectiveout·dress, verb (used with object)

Synonym study

1. Dress, costume, gown refer to garments for women. Dress is the general term for a garment: a black dress. Costume is used of the style of dress appropriate to some occasion, purpose, period, or character, especially as used on the stage, at balls, at court, or the like, and may apply to men's garments as well: an 18th-century costume. Gown is usually applied to a dress more expensive and elegant than the ordinary, usually long, to be worn on a special occasion: a wedding gown.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for dress down (1 of 2)

dress down

verb (adverb)

(tr) informal to reprimand severely or scold (a person)

(intr) to dress in a casual or informal manner, esp at work

British Dictionary definitions for dress down (2 of 2)

dress

/ (drɛs) /

verb

to put clothes on (oneself or another); attire

(intr)

to change one's clothes
to wear formal or evening clothes

(tr) to provide (someone) with clothing; clothe

(tr) to arrange merchandise in (a shop window) for effective display

(tr) to comb out or arrange (the hair) into position

(tr) to apply protective or therapeutic covering to (a wound, sore, etc)

(tr) to prepare (food, esp fowl and fish) for cooking or serving by cleaning, trimming, gutting, etc

(tr) to put a finish on (the surface of stone, metal, etc)

(tr) to till and cultivate (land), esp by applying manure, compost, or fertilizer

(tr) to prune and trim (trees, bushes, etc)

(tr) to groom (an animal, esp a horse)

(tr) to convert (tanned hides) into leather

(tr) archaic to spay or neuter (an animal)

angling to tie (a fly)

military to bring (troops) into line or (of troops) to come into line (esp in the phrase dress ranks)

dress ship nautical to decorate a vessel by displaying all signal flags on lines run from the bow to the stern over the mast trucks

noun

a one-piece garment for a woman, consisting of a skirt and bodice

complete style of clothing; costumeformal dress; military dress

(modifier) suitable or required for a formal occasiona dress shirt

the outer covering or appearance, esp of living thingstrees in their spring dress of leaves

Word Origin for dress

C14: from Old French drecier, ultimately from Latin dīrigere to direct

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dress down (1 of 2)

dress

early 14c., "make straight; direct, guide, control, prepare for cooking," from Old French dresser, drecier "raise (oneself), address, prepare, lift, raise, hoist, set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food), straighten, put right, direct," from Vulgar Latin *directiare, from Latin directus "direct, straight" (see direct (v.)).

Sense of "decorate, adorn" is late 14c., as is that of "put on clothing." Original sense survives in military meaning "align columns of troops." Dress up "attire elaborately" is from 1670s; dressing down "wearing clothes less formal than expected" is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. Related: Dressed; dressing.

Word Origin and History for dress down (1 of 2)

dress

c.1600, originally any clothing, especially that appropriate to rank or to some ceremony; sense of "woman's garment" is first recorded 1630s, with overtones of "made not merely to clothe but to adorn." Dress rehearsal first recorded 1828.

Medicine definitions for dress down

dress

[ drĕs ]

v.

To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to an area of the body such as a wound.

Idioms and Phrases with dress down

dress down

Scold, reprimand, as in The sergeant will dress down the entire unit. In the 15th century the verb dress alone was used in the sense of “punish,” down being added several centuries later. It also gave rise to the noun dressing down for punishment with blows or words. For example, The teacher gave the girls a severe dressing down.

Wear informal clothes, as in It's best to dress down for a party like a barbecue. [Mid-1900s] For the antonym, see dress up.

dress-down

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Definition for dress down (2 of 2)

dress

noun

adjective

verb (used with object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.

verb (used without object), dressed or drest, dress·ing.

Verb Phrases

Origin of dress

Synonym study

British Dictionary definitions for dress down (1 of 2)

dress down

verb (adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for dress down (2 of 2)

dress

verb

noun

Word Origin for dress

Word Origin and History for dress down (1 of 2)

dress

Word Origin and History for dress down (1 of 2)

dress

Medicine definitions for dress down

dress

v.

Idioms and Phrases with dress down

dress down