dresser

¹ American  

[dres-er] / ˈdrɛs ər /

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.

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dresser ² American  

[dres-er] / ˈdrɛs ər /

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.

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dresser ¹ British  

/ 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

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dresser ² British  

/ 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

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Etymology

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”; see origin at dress, -er ¹

Explanation

A dresser is a piece of furniture with several drawers that's used for storing clothes or other things. You might have a dresser in your bedroom that's full of sweaters. In the US, the word dresser almost always refers to a tall, upright type of furniture that's fitted with sliding drawers. You can keep your socks in a dresser, or put a dresser in your kitchen and keep tablecloths and silverware in it. If a person is called a dresser, she either works with theater actors, helping them put their costumes on, or dresses in an unusual or distinctive way: "She's such a colorful dresser!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dresser

She handed him the landline phone, which was resting on a dresser by her side of the bed.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Charvet, owned by the Colban family since the 1960s, claims to be the oldest shirtmaker in the world, having been founded by Joseph-Christophe Charvet, the son of Napoleon’s personal dresser.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Austin, Texas, chaplain keeps the plastic passport in a dresser drawer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Thirty years ago L.A. firefighters found children sleeping in closets and babies snoozing in dresser drawers.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

There was a bed along one wall, a desk and chair next to the window, and a tall dresser with a mirror.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Related Words

• closet
• wardrobe