underdress
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
garments worn beneath others; underclothes.
-
a slip, petticoat, or other underskirt, especially one designed to be seen when worn, as beneath a redingote.
Etymology
Origin of underdress
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:
An underdress of heavy fleece wool and waterproof canvas is worn inside, the rubber canvas trousers, with pockets, outside.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wasn't about to underdress for the occasion.
From Time Magazine Archive
Scott was whisked by White House aides through a "Private" door in the press room to the surprise of the regular pool reporters who wondered who dared to so underdress.
From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau
Bodice and underdress of sky-blue velveteen, trimmed with bouffants and noeuds of bell-pulls.
From The Book of Snobs by William Makepeace Thackeray
He wore a blue coat with buff facings and buff underdress, a small sword, rich epaulets, a black cockade in his three-cornered hat, and a blue sash under his coat.
From In the Days of Poor Richard by Irving Bacheller
A friend who was at the party with me recalls that, as underdressed as he was, Epstein pulled everyone’s focus to him—even the most powerful people in the room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
As I waited for my cappuccino in a line of VIP shoppers and newsletter subscribers sporting an abundance of Chanel handbags, I felt underdressed in jeans, sans blowout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
Then one evening, in front of Sarah and Mark and a sad bowl of underdressed salad, she tells him that she heard what he said.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2023
One year on, there are fresh complaints that ice creams are looking a bit underdressed.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
Even wearing Jesse’s shirt I felt underdressed compared to Audrey.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
His biggest etiquette pet peeves include underdressing and overfamiliarity, especially in virtual settings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Avoid the gruesome pitfalls of overdressing or underdressing.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2012
Last week, after three winters of wartime underdressing, U.S. partygoers were back in evening clothes.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I can't ever put on all those other things," he declared, indicating the elaborate underdressing.
From The Wrong Twin by Harry Leon Wilson
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.
