dresser

[ dres-er ]

/ ˈdrɛs ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dresser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who dresses.

a person employed to dress actors, care for costumes, etc., at a theater, television studio, or the like.

Chiefly British. a surgeon's assistant.

a person who dresses in a particular manner, as specified: a fancy dresser; a careful and distinctive dresser.

any of several tools or devices used in dressing materials.

Metalworking.

a block, fitting into an anvil, on which pieces are forged.
a mallet for shaping sheet metal.

a tool for truing the surfaces of grinding wheels.

Nearby words

dress-up, dressage, dressed, dressed to kill, dressed up, dresser, dresser set, dressing, dressing case, dressing forceps, dressing glass

Origin of dresser

1400–50; late Middle English: guide. See dress, -er¹

Definition for dresser (2 of 2)

dresser

[ dres-er ]

/ ˈdrɛs ər /

noun

a dressing table or bureau.

a sideboard or set of shelves for dishes and cooking utensils.

Obsolete. a table or sideboard on which food is dressed for serving.

Origin of dresser

1375–1425; Middle English dresso(u)r sideboard < Anglo-French; Middle French dresseur, Old French dreceor(e), equivalent to dreci(er) to dress + -ore -ory² (French dressoir)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dresser

The room held a sizable amount of old, worn furniture: the bed, a studio couch, three stuffed chairs, a chifforobe and a dresser.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis|Stanley Booth|June 7, 2014|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.
Mariah Carey Is the Last of the Traditional Divas|Phoebe Robinson|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kate might also want to think about taking a dresser or a lady's maid.
Situation Vacant: Kate and William Seek New Nanny For George|Tom Sykes|January 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The traces were discovered in a body of rock called the Dresser Foundation, near the town of Port Hedland.
‘Oldest Signs of Life on Earth’ Found in Australia|The Telegraph|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The note is on the dresser in his small private room where he likes to read and think.
The Man Oswald First Tried to Kill Before JFK|Bill Minutaglio, Steven L. Davis|October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
John awoke at this, and caught up a small pink pincushion which sat in the mathematical middle of his dresser, and threw it.
The Wishing-Ring Man|Margaret Widdemer
The Dresser (Fig. 137) is made somewhat similar to the side-board.
The Boy Craftsman|A. Neely Hall
In the kitchen department, you will require both table and dresser cloths, which should be made as neat as possible.
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million|Sarah Josepha Hale
The dresser drawers must move readily, and be perfectly clean.
Guide to Hotel Housekeeping|Mary E. Palmer
She had stepped to her dresser, and opened a drawer while speaking, and now held up to view what seemed to be simply an envelope.
Grandfather's Love Pie|Miriam Gaines

British Dictionary definitions for dresser (1 of 2)

dresser

/ (ˈdrɛsə) /

noun

a set of shelves, usually also with cupboards or drawers, for storing or displaying dishes, etc

US a chest of drawers for storing clothing in a bedroom or dressing room, often having a mirror on the top

Word Origin for dresser

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

British Dictionary definitions for dresser (2 of 2)

dresser

/ (ˈdrɛsə) /

noun

a person who dresses in a specified waya fashionable dresser

theatre a person employed to assist actors in putting on and taking off their costumes

a tool used for dressing stone or other materials

British a person who assists a surgeon during operations

British See window-dresser

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dresser

dresser

c.1300, "person who prepares or furnishes," agent noun from dress (v.). Meaning "table, sideboard," is late 14c., from Old French dresseur, dreçoir "table to prepare food," from dresser "prepare, dress." Meaning "chest, dressing bureau" is from 1895.

dresser

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of dresser

Definition for dresser (2 of 2)

dresser

noun

Origin of dresser

Examples from the Web for dresser

British Dictionary definitions for dresser (1 of 2)

dresser

noun

Word Origin for dresser

British Dictionary definitions for dresser (2 of 2)

dresser

noun

Word Origin and History for dresser

dresser