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”; dress, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Even a sticker on Scottie’s dresser drawer referring to “E.T.” makes us consider the tragic new limits of these children’s lives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Craighill, a careful dresser who made sure his pocket squares matched his neckties, advised colleagues to cultivate relationships with potential clients before making pitches to them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

Stacks of CDs and cassette tapes line his dresser, from Banda El Limón to Banda Móvil and a signed Pepe Aguilar.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

Swiftly tiring of life in the military, he found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente - a department store in Milan - where he moved swiftly through the ranks.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025

Once, Mom had tried to reorganize his dresser drawers because she thought he could “use some help.”

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Related Words

• closet
• wardrobe