dresser

¹

[ dres-er ]

noun

1. a dressing table or bureau.
2. a sideboard or set of shelves for dishes and cooking utensils.
3. Obsolete. a table or sideboard on which food is dressed for serving.

dresser

²

[ dres-er ]

noun

1. a person who dresses.
2. a person employed to dress actors, care for costumes, etc., at a theater, television studio, or the like.
3. Chiefly British. a surgeon's assistant.
4. a person who dresses in a particular manner, as specified:

   a fancy dresser;

   a careful and distinctive dresser.

5. any of several tools or devices used in dressing materials.
6. Metalworking.
   1. a block, fitting into an anvil, on which pieces are forged.
   2. a mallet for shaping sheet metal.
7. a tool for truing the surfaces of grinding wheels.

dresser

¹

/ ˈdrɛsə /

noun

1. a person who dresses in a specified way

   a fashionable dresser

2. theatre a person employed to assist actors in putting on and taking off their costumes
3. a tool used for dressing stone or other materials
4. a person who assists a surgeon during operations
5. See window-dresser

dresser

²

/ ˈdrɛsə /

noun

1. a set of shelves, usually also with cupboards or drawers, for storing or displaying dishes, etc
2. a chest of drawers for storing clothing in a bedroom or dressing room, often having a mirror on the top

Word History and Origins

Origin of dresser¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dresso(u)r, dressur(e), “sideboard,” from Anglo-French; Middle French dresseur, Old French dreçor, dreceor(e), equivalent to dreci(ier) “to dress ” + -ore -ory ²

Origin of dresser²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “guide; director”; dress, -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of dresser¹

C14 dressour, from Old French dreceore, from drecier to arrange; see dress

Example Sentences

Kanimba was horrified to see her dad — always an impeccable dresser — in such debilitated condition.

From Washington Post

These workstations can transform a kitchen table, coffee table, or dresser into a productivity center.

From Popular-Science

Radcliff said that in her two-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, she is currently using the top of her dresser in her bedroom as a desk while using a dining room chair as a seat.

From Digiday

He placed a television on a dresser, eye-height, and paced around the room.

From Washington Post

She gets Sarah to come to town for opening night and be her dresser, for old time’s sake.

From Vox

As a child, he remembers watching his father, “a very sharp dresser,” add the final touches to his suits—a tie.

From The Daily Beast

The room held a sizable amount of old, worn furniture: the bed, a studio couch, three stuffed chairs, a chifforobe and a dresser.

From The Daily Beast

Pop music, much like a teenager with a dresser full of training bras and her first summer job, is going through a lot changes.

From The Daily Beast

Petersen was a convener of people, known on multiple continents as a careful thinker, dynamic speaker, and dapper dresser.

From The Daily Beast

Kate might also want to think about taking a dresser or a lady's maid.

From The Daily Beast

Dorothy turned to the dresser, and a strange expression came over her face.

From Project Gutenberg

Why, Tip says she's the best-lookin' woman in the walley, and that she's a terrible tasty dresser.

From Project Gutenberg

Then she looked more hopeful as her eyes rested on Betty, who was sorting the contents of a too-crowded dresser drawer.

From Project Gutenberg

"And so we had," said Betty, closing the dresser drawer with a bang and coming unexpectedly to her aid.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a swagger dresser and more marked than many because he was strikingly handsome.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• closet
• wardrobe