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.
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full dress
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full-dress
full-dressadjectiveformal and complete in all details.
full dress
1 Americannoun
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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.
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a ceremonial style of dress.
full-dress
2
American
[fool-dres]
/ ˈfʊlˌdrɛs /
adjective
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formal and complete in all details.
a full-dress uniform.
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done or presented completely or thoroughly.
full dress
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of full dress1
First recorded in 1755–65
Origin of full-dress2
First recorded in 1755–65
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.
See Examples For:
Yeoman of the Guard in full dress uniform have started their journey, and behind the scenes things are being prepared for the procession.
From BBC ● May 4, 2023
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
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
Their parents walked downstairs, Lillian skipping lightly, proud of her beauty, aware of it; her husband followed, pulling at his necktie, uncomfortable in the full dress regalia of civilians.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“Any full-dress ruling would likely not come until the next term.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
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
When the inaugural class graduates in spring 2026, the Jesuit university wants a full-dress commencement within the prison.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022
Butler is genuinely interested in Sam, Colleen and Ryan — in a human-scale story rather than a full-dress historical stage production.
From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 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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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
