dress

dressverb

To dress is to put the right covering on something: clothes on a person, a clean cloth on a wound, or a sauce on food.

1. put on clothesput clothes on yourself or on someone else

   The object is the person, not the clothes: you dress a child, but you put on a coat. In everyday speech, get dressed is more usual than dress for putting on your own clothes.

   transitive or intransitive [T/I] verb + object [V + obj]

   • I got up and dressed quickly.
   • She dressed the children for school. V + obj
   • Hurry up and get dressed! (get dressed)
   • He was still dressing when we arrived.

   Collocations

   adverb + verb dress quickly

   phrase get dressed, dress yourself

   Antonyms undress

2. wear a kind of clotheswear clothes of a particular kind or style

   intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj]

   • She always dresses well. V + adv/prep
   • Dress warmly; it's cold outside. V + adv/prep
   • He was dressed in a dark suit. (be dressed in)
   • Everyone dressed as animals for the party. V + prep + obj

   Collocations

   verb + adverb dress well, dress casually, dress smartly, dress warmly

   phrase be dressed in something, dress as someone, dress for something

3. woundclean a wound and cover it with a clean cloth

   transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] medicine

   • The nurse dressed the cut on his arm. V + obj
   • You should clean and dress the wound every day. V + obj

   Collocations

   verb + noun dress a wound, dress a cut

4. saladput oil or a sauce on a dish of cold vegetables

   transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj] cooking

   • Dress the salad just before you serve it. V + obj
   • The salad was dressed with oil and lemon juice. V + obj (passive)

   Collocations

   verb + noun dress a salad

   verb + preposition dress something with oil

See also dress up