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Synonyms

fancy dress

American  

noun

  1. a costume for a ball, masquerade, etc., chosen to please the fancy, usually a costume characteristic of a particular period or place, class of persons, or historical or fictitious character.

fancy dress British  

noun

    1. costume worn at masquerades, etc, usually representing a particular role, historical figure, etc

    2. ( as modifier )

      a fancy-dress ball
"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

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.

New Year's Day is traditionally the day when brave swimmers don their fancy dress for the Loony Dook - a hangover-clearing dip in the bracing waters of the Firth of Forth.

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

Winkleman, who put out the flames with another parent, took a short break from Strictly, and later campaigned for tougher fire safety laws on fancy dress costumes.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025

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

“We missed the fun of the wedding, you know, it’s a shame to deprive us of all excitement. Hands up for the Manderley fancy dress ball. There you see, de Winter? Carried unanimously.”

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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.