dress-up

American  

[dres-uhp] / ˈdrɛsˌʌp /

adjective

1. being an occasion, situation, etc., for which one must be somewhat formally well-dressed.

   the first dress-up dance of the season.

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noun

1. Informal. Usually dress-ups.

   1. a person's best clothes.

      Wear your dress-ups for the reception.

   2. accessories or other added features.

      a car with custom dress-ups.

dress up British  

verb

1. to attire (oneself or another) in one's best clothes

2. to put fancy dress, disguise, etc, on (oneself or another), as in children's games

   let's dress up as ghosts!

3. (tr) to improve the appearance or impression of

   it's no good trying to dress up the facts

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dress up Idioms  

1. Wear formal or elaborate clothes, as in I love to dress up for a party . [Late 1600s] For the antonym, see dress down , def. 2.

2. Put on a costume of some kind, as in The children love dressing up as witches and goblins . [Late 1800s]

3. Adorn or disguise something in order to make it more interesting or appealing. For example, She has a way of dressing up her account with fanciful details . [Late 1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of dress-up

First recorded in 1665–75; noun, adj. use of verb phrase dress up

Example Sentences

But Bi is after more than elaborate dress-up, conceiving each episode as an exploration of how movies amplify and comment on life’s cavalcade of emotions.

From Los Angeles Times

But the display is tiny, the neural-band bracelet control is too fiddly and the glasses themselves make me look like a kid playing dress-up with her dad’s ’70s eyewear.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Powell, who has previously shown a love for silly disguises in his Hulu show “Chad Powers” and his Netflix movie “Hit Man,” returns to his dress-up closet, but this time there is never any comic payoff.

From The Wall Street Journal

And while the sing-along and dress-up aspects of “The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert” are life-affirming and family-friendly despite an inherent darkness, it’s often the shadows where Elfman likes to dwell.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, Y2K dress-up days are popping up in workplaces and on college campuses.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• attire
• clothe
• deck out
• embellish
• spruce up