dress rehearsal

American  

noun

dress rehearsals plural

1. a rehearsal of a play or other performance in costume and with scenery, properties, and lights arranged and operated as for a performance: often the final rehearsal.

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dress rehearsal British  

noun

1. the last complete rehearsal of a play or other work, using costumes, scenery, lighting, etc, as for the first night

2. any full-scale practice

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dress rehearsals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dress rehearsal

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

He told everyone it was a pleasure to be there as a dress rehearsal for testifying before Congress.

From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026

“They did a whole series of exercises to try and get together a full-scale dress rehearsal of what D-day would be,” Maras says.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

Thirty years later, Steven Spielberg would bring Pakula’s idea to fruition with “The Post,” about Graham’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, a dress rehearsal for the even higher stakes of Watergate a year later.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

An earlier dress rehearsal will be used to test out material and, as in the US show, not everything from rehearsals will make it on to the live version.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

We saw this as a dress rehearsal for the campaign Mr. de Klerk would wage against us.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• dry run
• rehearsal