dress-up

American

[dres-uhp] / ˈdrɛsˌʌp /

adjective

being an occasion, situation, etc., for which one must be somewhat formally well-dressed.

the first dress-up dance of the season.

noun

Informal. Usually dress-ups.
1. a person's best clothes.
  
  Wear your dress-ups for the reception.
2. accessories or other added features.
  
  a car with custom dress-ups.

dress up British

verb

to attire (oneself or another) in one's best clothes
to put fancy dress, disguise, etc, on (oneself or another), as in children's games

let's dress up as ghosts!
(tr) to improve the appearance or impression of

it's no good trying to dress up the facts

"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

dress up Idioms

Wear formal or elaborate clothes, as in I love to dress up for a party . [Late 1600s] For the antonym, see dress down , def. 2.
Put on a costume of some kind, as in The children love dressing up as witches and goblins . [Late 1800s]
Adorn or disguise something in order to make it more interesting or appealing. For example, She has a way of dressing up her account with fanciful details . [Late 1600s]

Etymology

Origin of dress-up

First recorded in 1665–75; noun, adj. use of verb phrase dress up

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I imagine the A.I. bot like a child playing dress-up, donning an oversized blazer and glasses for a game of “businessman.”

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

But the display is tiny, the neural-band bracelet control is too fiddly and the glasses themselves make me look like a kid playing dress-up with her dad’s ’70s eyewear.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

He calls the space “the ultimate glam dress-up room” and mentions the whispers he hears of major fashion houses stopping by Palace to gather inspiration.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

The resilience of these “based on a true story” series remains intact because so many of these fraudsters resemble the “Goop” founder, and got away with playing dress-up as part of the 1%.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2025

But the cameras were hidden in the dress-up corner’s mirror, in the fake apple on the teacher’s desk, in the easel set up ready for finger painting.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023