Synonyms

dressed to kill

Idioms

Also, dressed to the nines. Elaborately attired, as in For the opening of the restaurant she was dressed to kill, or At the opera everyone was dressed to the nines. The first of these hyperbolic expressions dates from the early 1800s and uses kill in the sense of “to a great or impressive degree.” The phrase to the nines in the sense of “superlative” dates from the late 1700s and its original meaning has been lost, but the most likely theory is that it alludes to the fact that nine, the highest single-digit numeral, stands for “best.” Also see gussied up.

Example Sentences

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dressed to kill

Even though Moira lost her fortune and lives in a roadside motel in a town called Schitt’s Creek, the former soap opera star is always dressed to kill, complete with a different wig every day.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 6, 2020

“Watching Reeves outfight everyone on the planet — always dressed to kill — is precisely why these films exist,” The Times said in its review.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2019

It’s hard not to look with envy at the party photographs of this great Malian photographer, where the dancing goes on until dawn and everyone is dressed to kill.

From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2017

I showed up, dressed to kill, and ready to wow the director and the camera crew.

From Forbes ● May 28, 2015

The Colonel turned his broad scarlet back with the ghost of a bow, and went reluctantly to Lady Rich, a mature matron, dressed to kill, in virginal white.

From Parson Kelly by Andrew Lang

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

dressed to kill

Example Sentences

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