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Synonyms

dressed to kill

Idioms  

  1. 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On one rainy Friday night in the Chapinero neighborhood, in northeast Bogotá, a swarm of young Colombians, with gelled hair and dressed to kill, gathered to relax at a craft brewery.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2023

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

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

But the lad approaching the wagon was "dressed to kill clams," as Andy laughingly expressed it.

From Frank and Andy Afloat The Cave on the Island by Barnum, Vance

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.