dress suit
Americannoun
-
a formal or semiformal ensemble, typically for a man, with matching jacket and trousers, usually worn with a dress shirt and necktie, sometimes including a vest.
-
a woman’s ensemble for semiformal or professional wear, comprising a jacket or blazer paired with a matching dress or skirt.
noun
Etymology
Origin of dress suit
First recorded in 1800–10
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.
Buying a new dress, suit or other formal outfit for each wedding just isn’t in our budget.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
It also may have been his own ironic interpretation of the unwritten Cannes rule that men should be "en smoking" -- the French term for a black-tie dress suit.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Victoria Forbes and Mark Lyons carried the wedding dress, suit and climbing gear up Sgùrr Dearg.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2023
So the next day I put on my battle uniform: a red dress suit that my mom had bought me.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2019
Seidel went home and put on two layers of clothes, a track suit over a dress suit.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
