fancy dress
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fancy dress
First recorded in 1760–70
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.
A masquerade without masks is merely fancy dress with an open bar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The inaugural event was designed for club runners but evolved to include everyone from elite entrants to those in weird and wonderful fancy dress, raising money for charity.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
Police advised schools to be placed in lockdown after reports of a suspected gunman on the loose - only to find it was a boy in fancy dress with a toy gun.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
Paul Smith, the Liverpool world title challenger who trained alongside Hatton, remembers one fancy dress party when Hatton dressed as 'Ginger Spice' Geri Halliwell.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025
She’s still wearing the fancy dress she bought for Pianopalooza.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
