dre ss-do wn Fri |day (dress-down Fridays ) N‑COUNT In some companies employees are allowed to wear clothes that are less smart than usual on a Friday. This day is known as a dress-down Friday . □ But is it really feasible to don sportswear to the office without the excuse of dress-down Friday?
dressed ◆◇◇ /dre st/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are dressed , you are wearing clothes rather than being naked or wearing your night clothes. If you get dressed , you put on your clothes. □ He was fully dressed, including shoes. □ He went into his bedroom to get dressed.
2 ADJ [adv ADJ ] If you are dressed in a particular way, you are wearing clothes of a particular colour or kind. □ [+ in ] …a tall thin woman dressed in black.
3 → see also well-dressed
dre ssed u p
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is dressed up , they are wearing special clothes, in order to look smarter than usual or in order to disguise themselves. □ You're all dressed up. Are you going somewhere?
2 ADJ If you say that something is dressed up as something else, you mean that someone has tried to make it more acceptable or attractive by making it seem like that other thing. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ as ] He tried to organise things so that the trip would be dressed up as a U.N. mission. [Also + in ]
dress|er /dre sə r / (dressers )
1 N‑COUNT A dresser is a chest of drawers, usually with a mirror on the top. [AM ] in BRIT, use dressing table 2 N‑COUNT A dresser is a piece of furniture which has cupboards or drawers in the lower part and shelves in the top part. It is usually used for storing china. [mainly BRIT ]
3 N‑COUNT [adj N ] You can use dresser to refer to the kind of clothes that a person wears. For example, if you say that someone is a smart dresser , you mean that they wear smart clothes.
dress|ing /dre s I ŋ/ (dressings )
1 N‑VAR A salad dressing is a mixture of oil, vinegar, and herbs or flavourings, which you pour over salad. □ Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.
2 N‑COUNT A dressing is a covering that is put on a wound to protect it while it heals.
dre ssing-do wn N‑SING If someone gives you a dressing-down , they speak angrily to you because you have done something bad or foolish. [INFORMAL ]
dre ss|ing gown (dressing gowns ) also dressing-gown N‑COUNT A dressing gown is a long, loose garment which you wear over your night clothes when you are not in bed.
dre ss|ing room (dressing rooms ) also dressing-room
1 N‑COUNT A dressing room is a room in a theatre where performers can dress and get ready for their performance.
2 N‑COUNT A dressing room is a room at a sports stadium where players can change and get ready for their game. [BRIT ] in AM, use locker room
dre ss|ing ta|ble (dressing tables ) also dressing-table N‑COUNT A dressing table is a small table in a bedroom. It has drawers underneath and a mirror on top.
dre ssing-u p also dressing up N‑UNCOUNT When children play at dressing-up , they put on special or different clothes and pretend to be different people.
dress|maker /dre sme I kə r / (dressmakers ) N‑COUNT A dressmaker is a person who makes women's or children's clothes.
dress|making /dre sme I k I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Dressmaking is the activity or job of making clothes for women or girls.
dre ss re|hea rs|al (dress rehearsals )
1 N‑COUNT The dress rehearsal of a play, opera, or show is the final rehearsal before it is performed, in which the performers wear their costumes and the lights and scenery are all used as they will be in the performance.
2 N‑COUNT You can describe an event as a dress rehearsal for a later, more important event when it indicates how the later event will be. □ [+ for ] These elections, you could almost say, are a dress rehearsal for the real elections.
dre ss se nse N‑UNCOUNT Someone's dress sense is their ability to choose clothes that make them look attractive. □ I've no dress sense at all.
dre ss shi rt (dress shirts ) N‑COUNT A dress shirt is a special shirt which men wear on formal occasions. It is worn with a dinner jacket and bow tie.
dressy /dre si/ (dressier , dressiest ) ADJ Dressy clothes are smart clothes which you wear when you want to look elegant or formal.
drew /druː / Drew is the past tense of draw .
drib|ble /dr I b ə l/ (dribbles , dribbling , dribbled )
1 VERB If a liquid dribbles somewhere, or if you dribble it, it drops down slowly or flows in a thin stream. □ [V prep/adv] Sweat dribbled down Hart's face. □ [V n prep/adv] Dribble the hot mixture slowly into the blender.
2 VERB When players dribble the ball in a game such as football or basketball, they keep kicking or tapping it quickly in order to keep it moving. □ [V n] He dribbled the ball towards Ferris. □ [V ] He dribbled past four defenders. □ [V -ing] Her dribbling skills look second to none.
3 VERB If a person dribbles , saliva drops slowly from their mouth. □ [V ] …to protect cot sheets when the baby dribbles.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Dribble is saliva that drops slowly from someone's mouth. □ His clothes are soaked in dribble.
dribs and drabs /dr I bz ən dræ bz/ PHRASE If people or things arrive in dribs and drabs , they arrive in small numbers over a period of time rather than arriving all together. [INFORMAL ] □ Clients came in dribs and drabs.