overdress
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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overdresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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overdressed,
past participle, past
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overdressing
present participle
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to dress with too much display, finery, or formality.
He certainly overdressed for the occasion.
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to put excessive clothing on.
She tends to overdress her children.
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overdresssimple
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overdressessimple
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have overdressedperfect
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has overdressedperfect
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am overdressingprogressive
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are overdressingprogressive
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is overdressingprogressive
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have been overdressingperfect progressive
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has been overdressingperfect progressive
Past
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overdressedsimple
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had overdressedperfect
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was overdressingprogressive
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were overdressingprogressive
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had been overdressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overdress
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:
"I was wearing formal clothing – that taught me not to overdress in hot weather."
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
“It’s just flagrantly obnoxious to overdress in a workplace situation, especially when you’re a junior member,” said Gunn, best known for being a clear-eyed mentor on the fashion-design competition show “Project Runway.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
“The sweetness means it can take an acid nicely,” notes the chef, who instructs his staff to slightly overdress Little Gems because he finds the “juiciness” of the leaves slightly dilutes the dressing.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2022
Still, it’s hard to resist the temptation to overdress.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2020
It was a green silk with green tulle overdress puffed, and with ears of silver wheat scattered over it.
From Music-Study in Germany from the Home Correspondence of Amy Fay by Amy Fay
As the head of a luxury marketing agency who overdresses, smokes, mocks political correctness and oozes meanness, she is the extreme version of the “Parisienne,” disseminating style and scorn in equal measure.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2020
Court ladies in pale-yellow bodices and looped overdresses over white.
From Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People by Constance D'Arcy Mackay
They are maids of the court, who wear rose-pink bodices and overdresses over white.
From Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People by Constance D'Arcy Mackay
The first group to enter is the pale-violet group, ladies-in-waiting, who wear pale-violet bodices and overdresses over white.
From Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People by Constance D'Arcy Mackay
Much fine stitchery was put into the fine white undergarments of that time, and the overdresses of both men and women became stiff with gold thread and jewels.
From Chats on Old Lace and Needlework by Emily Leigh Lowes
And the older guests, slightly overdressed for the occasion, can be seen smuggling their ties back into their pockets.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2024
But many of us are still loyal to sweatpants, and perhaps less inclined to participate in the formal, overdressed dining rituals of our pre-pandemic lives.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2022
“Death in Venice” both satirizes and relishes upper-class Venetian tourism of the early 20th century, with a patient camera that settles, uncomfortably if nauseatingly, on an overdecorated hotel and its overdressed guests.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
All four family members are overdressed throughout but it is Moira and David who make it an artform.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 16, 2020
“Johnny, do you think I might’ve overdressed a little for this thing? The invitation said formal, but these girls here all look like they’re dressed for church.”
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Doing the most: People made up for the past few years by overdressing in 2022.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
We're overdressing her all the time, which I adore because it's not realistic at all, and we can do it and Darren loves it.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2022
One of the most common errors home cooks make with salad is overdressing it, says Andrew Taylor, a chef and owner of Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2021
Avoid the gruesome pitfalls of overdressing or underdressing.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2012
Sylvia had found that overdressing was the best way of returning his hospitality; this evening she determined to surpass all previous efforts.
From The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett by Compton MacKenzie
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.
