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• full dress
  full dress

  noun

  the formal attire customarily worn in the evening, usually consisting of black tailcoats and white bow ties for men, and floor-length dresses for women.
• full-dress
  full-dress

  adjective

  formal and complete in all details.

full dress

¹ American  

noun

1. the formal attire customarily worn in the evening, usually consisting of black tailcoats and white bow ties for men, and floor-length dresses for women.

2. a ceremonial style of dress.

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full-dress ² American  

[fool-dres] / ˈfʊlˌdrɛs /

adjective

1. formal and complete in all details.

   a full-dress uniform.

2. done or presented completely or thoroughly.

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full dress British  

noun

1. 1. a formal or ceremonial style of dress, such as white tie and tails for a man and a full-length evening dress for a woman

   2. ( as modifier )

      full-dress uniform

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Etymology

Origin of full dress¹

First recorded in 1755–65

Origin of full-dress²

First recorded in 1755–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

full dress full-dress

She met her future husband while appearing with him in operas in which she had only seen him in full dress in elderly roles.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2023

Earlier, outside the hall in front of me was a full dress rehearsal for the Queen's state funeral - the Horse Guards with their shining helmets and the red sashes coming down from them.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2022

But to see him in full dress and going full go was impressive.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2021

Then the photographs, so many photographs: Leroy in a tux, Leroy in camo, Leroy in full dress uniform, Leroy holding his newborn daughter Aalexis, his big body curled over her tiny, swaddled form.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

By six A.M. he’s in the hotel lobby in full dress, polish on his shoes, pistol case snapped shut.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

The second was a dazzling full-dress demo normally provided only to potential corporate customers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026

She is not, in short, a prime candidate for a full-dress biography, yet somehow Carrie Courogen has pulled it off.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

The 18 paintings here are so rich and demanding, so challenging yet absorbing, that the prospect of a full-dress Guston retrospective can seem almost daunting.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

The Fightin’ Gator Marching Band drilled one sweltering afternoon in anticipation of its first full-dress, on-field halftime show since 2019.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021

Everyone is peevish and touchy, we do not take kindly to all this polishing, much less to the full-dress parades.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

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