dressing-down

American  

[dres-ing-doun] / ˈdrɛs ɪŋˈdaʊn /

noun

1. a severe reprimand; scolding.

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dressing-down British  

noun

1. informal a severe scolding or thrashing

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Etymology

Origin of dressing-down

1860–65, noun use (with -ing ¹ ) of verb phrase dress down

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dressing-down

And while this dressing-down of beloved works might seem like another bummer in a world of doomscrolling, @heartthrobanderson is anything but.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

This is a historic dressing-down of somebody who thought they were made of Teflon.

From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026

But Nigerian officials said they remembered the televised dressing-down Trump gave South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa in a Washington meeting in May.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025

"The recent dressing-down of Ukraine President Zelensky by President Trump and Vice-President Vance was a glitch on a media stage."

From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2025

She’d get a dressing-down from the mechanics for that, in the unlikely event she actually survived this never-ending nightmare.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer