dress
dress — noun
1. a garment for women or girls that has an upper part and extends downward to cove
a garment for women or girls that has an upper part and extends downward to cover the legs, typically reaching the knees or lower.
Lara wore a beautiful white dress to her graduation ceremony.
The red dress in the shop window caught Eri's attention.
Adaeze bought a summer dress made of light cotton fabric.
collocation: summer dress / cotton dress
Sana spent an hour trying on different dresses before choosing one.
Marta asked whether the blue dress made her look taller.
- wear a dress
- summer dress
- cotton dress
- long dress
- short dress
- wedding dress
- evening dress
Grammar Patterns
a + dress
dress + colour/pattern
Usage Note
Countable noun — one dress, two dresses. Can be modified by colour, fabric, length, or style (e.g. a silk dress, a knee-length dress).
Common Mistakes
2. clothing that is worn for a specific type of activity, situation, or occasion, o
clothing that is worn for a specific type of activity, situation, or occasion, often described by a word placed before it.
The invitation said guests should wear formal dress to the dinner party.
collocation: formal dress
Samir arrived in traditional dress for the cultural festival.
Most offices these days expect smart casual dress rather than suits.
The museum exhibition showed national dress from twenty different countries.
Evelyn checked the dress code before booking the restaurant for her birthday.
collocation: dress code
- formal dress
- casual dress
- traditional dress
- evening dress
- national dress
- smart dress
- dress code
Grammar Patterns
[adjective] + dress
dress code
Usage Note
Uncountable noun — do not say 'a dress' when referring to clothing in general. Use 'formal dress', 'casual dress', etc. as a category label.
Common Mistakes
dress — verb
1. to place clothing on your body or on another person who cannot do it alone — for
to place clothing on your body or on another person who cannot do it alone — for example, a young child or an ill patient.
Christopher dressed quickly and ran out the door to catch the bus.
Yael dresses her baby daughter in warm clothes before going outside.
transitive: dress + object for helping someone
After his fall the old man could not dress himself, so the nurse helped him.
Adaeze always dresses in layers during the cold winter months.
Pim woke up late and barely had time to dress before school started.
intransitive: dress without object
- get dressed
- dress quickly
- dress warmly
- dress the baby
- dress oneself
- dress in layers
- get dressed
common phrasal equivalent for dressing oneself; more informal and used in everyday speech
- clothe
more formal, often used in literary or religious contexts
- put on
used for individual items (put on a shirt) rather than the whole process
- undress
to remove clothes
Grammar Patterns
dress + object (someone/oneself)
dress (no object)
get dressed
Usage Note
Frequently used in the pattern 'get dressed' (meaning to dress oneself). When helping another person, the object is required: 'dress the baby', 'dress the patient'.
Common Mistakes
2. to wear or to make someone wear clothes of a particular style, colour, or type.
to wear or to make someone wear clothes of a particular style, colour, or type.
Evelyn dressed all in black for the formal evening event.
pattern: dress in [colour]
Pim's children always dress casually on weekends when they play outside.
Walid dressed his team in matching uniforms for the competition.
transitive: dress + object + in + clothes
Dahlia prefers to dress smartly for work, even on casual Fridays.
At the wedding all the men dressed in grey suits and red ties.
- dress in
- dress casually
- dress smartly
- dress formally
- dress all in black
- dress like
- wear
focuses on individual items rather than overall style; 'she wears black' vs 'she dresses in black'
Grammar Patterns
dress + in + clothes/style
dress + object + in + clothes
Usage Note
When describing someone's usual style, use 'dress' + adverb (dress casually, dress smartly) or 'dress in' + colour/style. The transitive use (dress someone in X) is less common than the intransitive.
Common Mistakes
3. to wear formal or elegant attire, especially for an evening meal, a special even
to wear formal or elegant attire, especially for an evening meal, a special event, or any occasion that expects it.
The restaurant requires all guests to dress for dinner.
pattern: dress for dinner
Samir decided not to dress for the meal and wore jeans instead.
We always dress when we go to the theatre on Saturday night.
Lara felt she had to dress for the award ceremony even though it was informal.
- dress for dinner
- dress for the occasion
- dress for the theatre
- dress up
phrasal verb meaning to wear formal or fancy clothes; more common in everyday speech
- dress down
to wear informal or casual clothes
Grammar Patterns
dress for + occasion
dress to + infinitive
Usage Note
Often used in the fixed phrase 'dress for dinner', which refers to changing into formal evening wear before an evening meal. This sense is primarily intransitive and typically describes a social custom.
Common Mistakes
4. to pour a liquid mixture — often oil and vinegar or a creamy sauce — over a sala
to pour a liquid mixture — often oil and vinegar or a creamy sauce — over a salad or raw vegetables to give them more flavour.
Lara dressed the salad with olive oil and lemon juice.
collocation: dress a salad with [ingredients]
The chef dressed the greens lightly so the flavour would not be too strong.
Christopher always dresses his salad with a simple vinaigrette at home.
You should dress the salad just before serving to keep the leaves crisp.
- dress a salad
- dress with oil
- dress with vinaigrette
- dressed salad
- lightly dressed
- toss
refers to mixing the salad to coat it with dressing, used after the dressing has been added
Grammar Patterns
dress + object (salad/greens) + with + dressing
Usage Note
The object is the food being dressed (salad, greens, vegetables), not the dressing itself. The dressing is introduced with 'with': 'dress the salad with vinaigrette'.
Common Mistakes
5. to clean and prepare a bird, fish, or animal so that it can be cooked and eaten,
to clean and prepare a bird, fish, or animal so that it can be cooked and eaten, usually by removing the insides, feathers, or skin.
The fishmonger dressed the salmon and wrapped it in paper for Eri.
Walid learned how to dress a chicken from his grandmother.
Before cooking the turkey you need to dress it by removing the insides.
pattern: dress + [type of meat/bird]
The butcher dressed the lamb and cut it into pieces for the customer.
- dress a chicken
- dress a fish
- dress meat
- dressed poultry
- dress the turkey
Grammar Patterns
dress + object (meat/fish/bird)
Usage Note
Less common in everyday speech; most people would say 'clean the chicken' or 'prepare the fish'. 'Dress' in this sense is more common in cooking instructions and professional kitchens.
Common Mistakes
6. to clean a cut, wound, or burn and put a protective covering or medicine on it t
to clean a cut, wound, or burn and put a protective covering or medicine on it to help it heal and prevent infection.
The nurse dressed the burn on Marta's arm with a clean bandage.
Yael dressed the cut on her knee carefully before covering it with a plaster.
You should dress any open wound as soon as possible to prevent infection.
pattern: dress a wound / cut / burn
The doctor dressed the surgical wound and told Dahlia to keep it dry.
- dress a wound
- dress a cut
- dress a burn
- dress an injury
- dress a surgical wound
Grammar Patterns
dress + object (wound/cut/burn/injury)
Usage Note
The noun 'dressing' (a bandage or covering) is related. In medical contexts, 'dress the wound' is the standard professional phrase. The object must be the injury, not the person — say 'dress his wound', not 'dress him' (the latter means put clothes on him).
Common Mistakes
7. to arrange products or goods attractively in a shop window or display area so th
to arrange products or goods attractively in a shop window or display area so that customers will notice them and want to buy them.
Sana dresses the shop window every week with new summer clothes.
The department store hired a professional team to dress its windows for the holidays.
collocation: dress a window / dress windows
Pim spent the afternoon dressing the display with shoes and handbags.
Evelyn learned how to dress a retail window during her training as a visual designer.
- dress a window
- dress the shop window
- dress the display
- window dressing
- dress the store front
Grammar Patterns
dress + object (window/display/shop)
Usage Note
Almost always used in a retail or commercial context. The related noun is 'window dressing', which refers to the activity itself or (figuratively) to making something look more attractive than it really is.
Common Mistakes
dress — adjective
1. suitable for formal or important social occasions, describing items of clothing
suitable for formal or important social occasions, describing items of clothing such as suits, formal shirts, and smart shoes — in contrast to casual wear.
The birthday party requires dress clothes, so Christopher put on a suit and tie.
collocation: dress clothes / dress shoes
Evelyn wore a dress shirt and black trousers to the awards ceremony.
Most hotels ask men to wear dress shoes in the main restaurant.
Dahlia packed a dress suit for the business conference next week.
The shop sells both dress shoes and casual trainers.
- dress clothes
- dress shirt
- dress shoes
- dress suit
- dress uniform
- dress trousers
Grammar Patterns
dress + noun (clothes/shoes/shirt)
Usage Note
Only used before a noun — 'dress shoes', 'dress shirt', 'dress clothes'. It is not used predicatively (do not say 'these shoes are dress'). Commonly contrasts with 'casual' in dress codes and retail categories.
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All five words relate to putting clothing on the body, but they differ in scope and usage. 'Dress' (verb/1) refers to the whole process of putting on all your clothes, including helping someone else do it. 'Get dressed' is more informal and focuses on completing the action — you say 'I got dressed quickly' for everyday routines. 'Put on' is item-specific: you put on a shirt, then put on trousers, but you cannot 'put on' an entire outfit in one action. 'Wear' describes the state of having clothes on, not the action of putting them on — 'she wore a red dress' means she had it on, not that she was putting it on. 'Clothe' is more formal and usually passive or reflexive ('they are well clothed') or directed at providing for others ('clothe the homeless'). For everyday speech about the action of dressing yourself, 'get dressed' is the most natural choice. For describing habitual style, use 'dress' with an adverb: 'she dresses smartly'.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'dress' entered English from Old French 'drecier' or 'dresser', meaning 'to arrange, prepare, set straight'. This French verb came from Latin 'directus' ('straight, directed'), the past participle of 'dirigere' ('to make straight, guide'). The original sense of arranging or putting in order gradually shifted to arranging one's clothing, and by the 14th century 'dress' was used for putting on garments. The noun use — meaning a woman's one-piece garment — did not appear until the 17th century, probably because such garments were the result of careful 'dressing' or arrangement of fabric.