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

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

This ITV drama from the production company behind The Crown re-examines the events surrounding the killing by Jane Andrews, former dresser to the then Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, of her partner Thomas Cressman.

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

The author is a former set dresser for film and TV and is now a science fiction novelist.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2025

Imagine my surprise when, instead, I saw her wicker dresser fully engulfed in flame, the fire licking up the wall.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2025

My head dizzy, I clutched the edge of my dresser.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• closet
• wardrobe