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
In pictures taken at the time Trevor can be seen on stage with Barlow, including one documenting the pair in fancy dress on New Year's Eve.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
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
“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.
