dress circle

American  

noun

1. a circular or curving division of seats in a theater, opera house, etc., usually the first gallery, originally set apart for spectators in evening dress.

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dress circle British  

noun

1. a tier of seats in a theatre or other auditorium, usually the first gallery above the ground floor

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Etymology

Origin of dress circle

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dress circle

“England is in the gallery, the tropics in the upper circle, Australia on the dress circle and the antarctic in the pit,” he wrote.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 24, 2019

She laughs, and you can hear the elasticity of her vocal cords—the suppleness of a slingshot ready to lob a High C into the dress circle at any moment.

From Time ● Oct. 24, 2017

She said ticket price cuts in the balcony and upper circle had boosted audiences, and would be extended to the dress circle this year.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2017

In the absence of an actual superhero, Stefan Vinke, energetic and bullish, will do, but his tenor doesn't ping off the walls of the dress circle.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 30, 2012

They watch as Booth climbs the staircase to the dress circle, which leads to the hallway to the state box.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly