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• dress-down
  dress-down

  adjective

  pertaining to or being a policy that allows employees to dress less formally than usual.
• dress down
  dress down

  verb

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

dress-down

American  

[dres-doun] / ˈdrɛsˌdaʊn /

adjective

1. pertaining to or being a policy that allows employees to dress less formally than usual.

   dress-down days during the summer.

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dress down British  

verb

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

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

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dress down Idioms  

1. 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 .

2. 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 .

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Etymology

Origin of dress-down

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dress-down dress down

Ironically, Sir Keir Starmer had also embraced the dress-down spirit of his successor, with the outgoing PM sometimes seen in tracksuits, a Stone Island polo shirt, and Adidas trainers.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

He repeated the words “I’m comin'” at least a dozen times, and had players chant words such as “smart!” “tough!” and “disciplined!” after the dress-down.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 21, 2023

We have dress-down Fridays, which now becomes dress down every day of the week.

From Slate ● Jan. 24, 2018

As a student at Jasper County High, Mr. Pinckney took to wearing suits, ties and starched white shirts to school, even on dress-down Fridays in sweltering heat.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2015

Instead, it was a full-on dress-down, with Stewart's anger at Cramer taking over parts of the interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2015

“My late husband worked in fundraising and had learned to look beyond the surface, as many of his former company’s largest donors tended to dress down so as to not attract attention,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026

But Ali Bongo re-emerged as a more reserved figure, attempting to dress down and travelling to campaign in the provinces.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023

“It was a dress down that — I was lost. That’s been my big downfall. I’m a flannel mouth. John Houseman called me a flannel mouth when I was in school.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2021

It’s worth the wait to see Wilson dress down a German ambassador as a prelude to America’s entrance in the war.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2021

I stand up and smooth my dress down.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett