dress (dr s)v. dressed, dress·ing, dress·es v.tr. 1. a. To put clothes on; clothe. b. To furnish with clothing. 2. To decorate or adorn: dress a Christmas tree. 3. To garnish: dressed the side dish with parsley. 4. To arrange a display in: dress a store window. 5. To arrange (troops) in ranks; align. 6. To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to (a wound). 7. To arrange and groom (the hair), as by styling, combing, or washing. 8. To groom (an animal); curry. 9. To cultivate (land or plants). 10. To clean (fish or fowl) for cooking or sale. 11. a. To put a finish on (stone or wood, for example). b. To tan or prepare (a hide) in leather-making. v.intr. 1. To put on clothes. 2. To wear clothes of a certain kind or style: dresses casually. 3. To wear formal clothes: dress for dinner. 4. To get into proper alignment with others: The troops dressed on the squad leader. n. 1. Clothing; apparel. 2. A style of clothing: folk dancers in peasant dress. 3. A one-piece outer garment for women or girls. 4. Outer covering or appearance; guise: an ancient ritual in modern dress. adj. Phrasal Verbs: 1. Suitable for formal occasions: dress shoes. 2. Requiring formal clothes: a dress dinner. dress down 1. To scold; reprimand: I was dressed down by the teacher for lateness. 2. To wear informal clothes, befitting an occasion or location: I dressed down for such a casual occasion. dress up Idiom: To wear formal or fancy clothes: They dressed up and went to the prom. dress ship Nautical To display the ensign, signal flags, and bunting on a ship. [Middle English dressen, to arrange, put on clothing, from Old French drecier, to arrange, from Vulgar Latin *d  r cti re, from Latin drctus, past participle of drigere, to direct; see direct.]Word History: A dress is such a common article of modern attire that it is difficult to imagine that the word dress has not always referred to this garment. The earliest noun sense of dress, recorded in a work written before 1450, was "speech, talk." This dress comes from the verb dress, which goes back through Old French drecier, "to arrange," and the assumed Vulgar Latin *d rctire to Latin drctus, a form of the verb drigere, "to direct." In accordance with its etymology, the verb dress has meant and still means "to place," "to arrange," and "to put in order." The sense "to clothe" is related to the notion of putting in order, specifically in regard to clothing. This verb sense then gave rise to the noun sense "personal attire" as well as to the specific garment sense. The earliest noun sense, "speech," comes from a verb sense having to do with addressing or directing words to other people. |
dress up
vb (adverb)
1. (Clothing & Fashion) to attire (oneself or another) in one's best clothes
2. (Clothing & Fashion) to put fancy dress, disguise, etc., on (oneself or another), as in children's games let's dress up as ghosts!
3. (tr) to improve the appearance or impression of it's no good trying to dress up the facts
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. |  dress up - put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive; "She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera"; "The young girls were all fancied up for the party"attire, deck out, deck up, fancy up, fig out, fig up, rig out, tog out, tog up, trick out, trick up, gussy up, overdress, prink, get up primp, preen, dress, plume - dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when going to the opera" prank - dress up showily; "He pranked himself out in his best clothes" tart up - dress up in a cheap and provocative way dress, dress up - dress in a certain manner; "She dresses in the latest Paris fashion"; "he dressed up in a suit and tie" enrobe - adorn with a robe dress, get dressed - put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?" dress, get dressed - put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?" dress down, underdress - dress informally and casually; "On Fridays, employees can underdress" |
| 2. | dress up - make something appear superficially attractive; "The researcher tried to dress up the uninteresting data"; "Don't try to dress up the unpleasant truth" | |
| 3. | dress up - put a caparison on; "caparison the horses for the festive occasion" | |
| 4. | dress up - dress in a costume; "We dressed up for Halloween as pumpkins" attire, deck out, deck up, dress up, fancy up, fig out, fig up, rig out, tog out, tog up, trick out, trick up, gussy up, overdress, prink, get up - put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive; "She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera"; "The young girls were all fancied up for the party" | |
| 5. | dress up - dress in a certain manner; "She dresses in the latest Paris fashion"; "he dressed up in a suit and tie" attire, deck out, deck up, dress up, fancy up, fig out, fig up, rig out, tog out, tog up, trick out, trick up, gussy up, overdress, prink, get up - put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive; "She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera"; "The young girls were all fancied up for the party" dress, get dressed - put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?" vest - clothe oneself in ecclesiastical garments |
Translations
? dress up
vi
(in fancy dress) → sich verkleiden; he came dressed up as Santa Claus → er kam als Weihnachtsmann (verkleidet); to dress up as a pirate → sich als Pirat verkleiden
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