2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as dreamy , you mean that you like it and that it seems gentle and soft, like something in a dream. [APPROVAL ] □ …dreamy shots of beautiful sunsets.
3 → see also dreamily
dreary /dr I ə ri/ (drearier , dreariest ) ADJ If you describe something as dreary , you mean that it is dull and depressing. □ …a dreary little town in the Midwest. ● dreari|ly ADV [ADV adj, ADV with v] □ …a drearily familiar scenario.
dredge /dre dʒ/ (dredges , dredging , dredged ) VERB When people dredge a harbour, river, or other area of water, they remove mud and unwanted material from the bottom with a special machine in order to make it deeper or to look for something. □ [V n] Police have spent weeks dredging the lake but have not found his body.
▸ dredge up
1 PHRASAL VERB If someone dredges up a piece of information they learned a long time ago, or if they dredge up a distant memory, they manage to remember it. □ [V P n] …an American trying to dredge up some French or German learned in high school. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If someone dredges up a damaging or upsetting fact about your past, they remind you of it or tell other people about it. □ [V P n] I wouldn't want to dredge up the past. □ [V n P ] It's the media who keep dredging it up.
dredg|er /dre dʒə r / (dredgers ) N‑COUNT A dredger is a boat which is fitted with a special machine that is used to increase the size of harbours, rivers, and canals.
dregs /dre gz/
1 N‑PLURAL The dregs of a liquid are the last drops left at the bottom of a container, together with any solid bits that have sunk to the bottom. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Colum drained the dregs from his cup.
2 N‑PLURAL If you talk about the dregs of society or of a community, you mean the people in it who you consider to be the most worthless and bad. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He sees dissidents as the dregs of society.
drench /dre ntʃ/ (drenches , drenching , drenched ) VERB To drench something or someone means to make them completely wet. □ [V n] They turned fire hoses on the people and drenched them. □ [get V -ed] They were getting drenched by icy water. □ [V -ed] We were completely drenched and cold. ● -drenched COMB □ …the rain-drenched streets of the capital.
dress ◆◆◇ /dre s/ (dresses , dressing , dressed )
1 N‑COUNT A dress is a piece of clothing worn by a woman or girl. It covers her body and part of her legs. □ She was wearing a black dress.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to clothes worn by men or women as dress . □ He's usually smart in his dress. □ …hundreds of Cambodians in traditional dress.
3 → see also evening dress , fancy dress , full dress , morning dress
4 VERB When you dress or dress yourself , you put on clothes. □ [V ] He told Sarah to wait while he dressed. □ [V pron-refl] Sue had dressed herself neatly for work.
5 VERB If you dress someone, for example a child, you put clothes on them. □ [V n] She bathed her and dressed her in clean clothes.
6 VERB If someone dresses in a particular way, they wear clothes of a particular style or colour. □ [V + in ] He dresses in a way that lets everyone know he's got authority.
7 VERB If you dress for something, you put on special clothes for it. □ [V + for ] We don't dress for dinner here.
8 VERB When someone dresses a wound, they clean it and cover it. □ [V n] The poor child never cried or protested when I was dressing her wounds.
9 VERB If you dress a salad, you cover it with a mixture of oil, vinegar, and herbs or flavourings. □ [V n] Scatter the tomato over, then dress the salad. □ [V -ed] …a bowl of dressed salad.
10 → see also dressed , dressing
▸ dress down PHRASAL VERB If you dress down , you wear clothes that are less smart than usual. □ [V P ] She dresses down in baggy clothes to avoid hordes of admirers.
▸ dress up
1 PHRASAL VERB If you dress up or dress yourself up , you put on different clothes, in order to make yourself look smarter than usual or to disguise yourself. □ [V P ] You do not need to dress up for dinner. □ [V P + as ] Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas. [Also V n P ] [Also + in ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If you dress someone up , you give them special clothes to wear, in order to make them look smarter or to disguise them. □ [V n P ] Mother loved to dress me up. [Also V P n (not pron)]
3 PHRASAL VERB If you dress something up , you try to make it seem more attractive, acceptable, or interesting than it really is. □ [V P n] Politicians dress up their ruthless ambition as a pursuit of the public good. □ [V n P ] However you dress it up, a bank only exists to lend money.
4 → see also dressed up , dressing-up
dres|sage /dre sɑːʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT Dressage is a competition in which horse riders have to make their horse perform controlled movements.
dre ss ci r|cle N‑SING The dress circle is the lowest of the curved rows of seats upstairs in a theatre.
dre ss co de (dress codes ) N‑COUNT The dress code of a place is the rules about what kind of clothes people are allowed to wear there. □ There is a strict dress code: no trainers or jeans.