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dress code

American  

noun

  1. a set of rules specifying the garb or type of clothing to be worn by a group or by people under specific circumstances.

    a military dress code; The restaurant's dress code requires men to wear jackets and ties at dinner.
dress code British  

noun

  1. a set of rules or guidelines regarding the manner of dress acceptable in an office, restaurant, etc

"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

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.

It might also help to ask your colleagues if there is an unwritten dress code.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026

The dress code was eclectic and appropriately L.A.: hyper-curated and nonchalant.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

It's one of Northern Ireland's most exclusive night clubs - but it's not because of a dress code.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

Some influencers on TikTok vowed to make pajamas and slippers their official airport dress code.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

“I want you to show me right now where in the dress code it says anything about armbands,” she tells Principal Trask, slapping the Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High Handbook hard on the desk.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

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.