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[dres] /drɛs/

noun
1.
an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.
2.
clothing; apparel; garb:
The dress of the 18th century was colorful.
3.
formal attire.
4.
a particular form of appearance; guise.
5.
outer covering, as the plumage of birds.
adjective
6.
of or for a dress or dresses.
7.
of or for a formal occasion.
8.
requiring formal dress.
verb (used with object), dressed or drest, dressing.
9.
to put clothing upon.
10.
to put formal or evening clothes on.
11.
to trim; ornament; adorn:
to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.
12.
to design clothing for or sell clothes to.
13.
to comb out and do up (hair).
14.
to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often followed by out when referring to a large animal):
We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.
15.
to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.
16.
to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).
17.
to make straight; bring (troops) into line:
to dress ranks.
18.
to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.
19.
to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).
20.
Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.
21.
to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.:
The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.
22.
Angling.

23.
Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
24.
to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.:
to have one’s new car fully dressed.
verb (used without object), dressed or drest, dressing.
25.
to clothe or attire oneself; put on one’s clothes:
Wake up and dress, now!
26.
to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes:
to dress for dinner.
27.
to come into line, as troops.
28.
to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line.
Verb phrases
29.
dress down,

30.
dress up,

Idioms
31.
dress ship,

/drɛs/
verb
1.
to put clothes on (oneself or another); attire
2.
(intransitive)

3.
(transitive) to provide (someone) with clothing; clothe
4.
(transitive) to arrange merchandise in (a shop window) for effective display
5.
(transitive) to comb out or arrange (the hair) into position
6.
(transitive) to apply protective or therapeutic covering to (a wound, sore, etc)
7.
(transitive) to prepare (food, esp fowl and fish) for cooking or serving by cleaning, trimming, gutting, etc
8.
(transitive) to put a finish on (the surface of stone, metal, etc)
9.
(transitive) to till and cultivate (land), esp by applying manure, compost, or fertilizer
10.
(transitive) to prune and trim (trees, bushes, etc)
11.
(transitive) to groom (an animal, esp a horse)
12.
(transitive) to convert (tanned hides) into leather
13.
(transitive) (archaic) to spay or neuter (an animal)
14.
(angling) to tie (a fly)
15.
(military) to bring (troops) into line or (of troops) to come into line (esp in the phrase dress ranks)
16.
(nautical) dress ship, to decorate a vessel by displaying all signal flags on lines run from the bow to the stern over the mast trucks
noun
17.
a one-piece garment for a woman, consisting of a skirt and bodice
18.
complete style of clothing; costume: formal dress, military dress
19.
(modifier) suitable or required for a formal occasion: a dress shirt
20.
the outer covering or appearance, esp of living things: trees in their spring dress of leaves
v.

early 14c., “make straight; direct, guide, control, prepare for cooking,” from Old French dresser, drecier “raise (oneself), address, prepare, lift, raise, hoist, set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food), straighten, put right, direct,” from Vulgar Latin *directiare, from Latin directus “direct, straight” (see direct (v.)).

Sense of “decorate, adorn” is late 14c., as is that of “put on clothing.” Original sense survives in military meaning “align columns of troops.” Dress up “attire elaborately” is from 1670s; dressing down “wearing clothes less formal than expected” is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. Related: Dressed; dressing.
n.

c.1600, originally any clothing, especially that appropriate to rank or to some ceremony; sense of “woman’s garment” is first recorded 1630s, with overtones of “made not merely to clothe but to adorn.” Dress rehearsal first recorded 1828.

dress (drěs)
v. dressed, dress·ing, dress·es
To apply medication, bandages, or other therapeutic materials to an area of the body such as a wound.

Related Terms

granny dress

(1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah’s dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted with the art of weaving hair into cloth (Ex. 26:7; 35:6), which formed the sackcloth of mourners. This was the material of John the Baptist’s robe (Matt. 3:4). Wool was also woven into garments (Lev. 13:47; Deut. 22:11; Ezek. 34:3; Job 31:20; Prov. 27:26). The Israelites probably learned the art of weaving linen when they were in Egypt (1 Chr. 4:21). Fine linen was used in the vestments of the high priest (Ex. 28:5), as well as by the rich (Gen. 41:42; Prov. 31:22; Luke 16:19). The use of mixed material, as wool and flax, was forbidden (Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11). (2.) Colour. The prevailing colour was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller’s art (Ps. 104:1, 2; Isa. 63:3; Mark 9:3). The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing (Gen. 37:3, 23). Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving (Ex. 28:6; 26:1, 31; 35:25), and by needle-work (Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:13). Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia (Zeph. 1:8). Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy (Luke 16:19; 2 Sam. 1:24). (3.) Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other. (a) The “coat” (kethoneth), of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely-fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt (John 19:23). It was kept close to the body by a girdle (John 21:7). A person wearing this “coat” alone was described as naked (1 Sam. 19:24; Isa. 20:2; 2 Kings 6:30; John 21:7); deprived of it he would be absolutely naked. (b) A linen cloth or wrapper (sadin) of fine linen, used somewhat as a night-shirt (Mark 14:51). It is mentioned in Judg. 14:12, 13, and rendered there “sheets.” (c) An upper tunic (meil), longer than the “coat” (1 Sam. 2:19; 24:4; 28:14). In 1 Sam. 28:14 it is the mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; in 1 Sam. 24:4 it is the “robe” under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two “coats” (Matt. 10:10; Luke 9:3). (d) The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of woollen cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face (2 Sam. 15:30; Esther 6:12). It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket (2 Kings 4:39; Ps. 79:12; Hag. 2:12; Prov. 17:23; 21:14). Female dress. The “coat” was common to both sexes (Cant. 5:3). But peculiar to females were (1) the “veil” or “wimple,” a kind of shawl (Ruth 3:15; rendered “mantle,” R.V., Isa. 3:22); (2) the “mantle,” also a species of shawl (Isa. 3:22); (3) a “veil,” probably a light summer dress (Gen. 24:65); (4) a “stomacher,” a holiday dress (Isa. 3:24). The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet (Isa. 47:2; Jer. 13:22). The dress of the Persians is described in Dan. 3:21. The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family (Prov. 31:22; Acts 9:39). Extravagance in dress is referred to in Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:10; Zeph. 1:8 (R.V., “foreign apparel”); 1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3. Rending the robes was expressive of grief (Gen. 37:29, 34), fear (1 Kings 21:27), indignation (2 Kings 5:7), or despair (Judg. 11:35; Esther 4:1). Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation (Acts 18:6); wrapping them round the head, of awe (1 Kings 19:13) or grief (2 Sam. 15:30; casting them off, of excitement (Acts 22:23); laying hold of them, of supplication (1 Sam. 15:27). In the case of travelling, the outer garments were girded up (1 Kings 18:46). They were thrown aside also when they would impede action (Mark 10:50; John 13:4; Acts 7:58).