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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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

full dress full-dress

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

The stage was set, then for a full dress rehearsal by the next crew to the launchpad.

From New York Times ● May 13, 2019

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

“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

There are several impressive, full-dress biographies of Hitchcock, but Edward White’s thoughtful and nuanced book takes a different approach.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2021

A decorated veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with a reputation as an iconoclast, he came to Mar-a-Lago in full-dress uniform.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 29, 2019

But Dad hated unprintable words, and the fact that he had stood up for his son didn’t prevent him from holding a full-dress court of inquiry once he got home, and administering the called-for punishment.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey