dress
on formal clothes for the evening: *You are expected to dress for dinner in this hotel.* **4** [T] to make or choose clothes for: *The princess is dressed by a famous dress designer.* **5** [T] to clean and put medicine and a protective covering on (a wound) **6** [T] to prepare for use, especially to prepare for cooking or eating: *He dressed the salad with oil and vinegar. | to dress birds for the market (=clean them and remove the feathers)* | *(tech)* to dress the ground for planting, by spreading fertilizer | *(tech) dressed (=cut and shaped)* stones for building **7** [T] **a)** to arrange (the hair) by combing, brushing, curling etc **b)** to arrange goods to be shown publicly in (e.g. a shop window) **8** [I;T] *tech* to form or cause (soldiers) to form a straight line: *Officer, dress those men to the right! | Soldiers, dress right!* **9 dressed (up) to kill** *infml* wearing very bright fashionable clothes **10 dressed (up) to the nines** *infml* wearing your best or most formal clothes **11 all dressed up and nowhere to go** *humor* a phrase used when someone seems dressed in their best clothes for no clear reason
**USAGE** Compare **dress, put on,** and **wear**. You can **put on** any article of clothing: *She put on a woolly scarf before she went out.* When you **put on** all your clothes, you can say **dress** (rather literary) or **get dressed**: *I got up and put on my clothes/ dressed/got dressed.* **Wear** means 'to have (clothes) on' and is usually used to describe someone's habits or appearance: *She always wears black. | I'll be wearing a red coat.* Here you can also use **dress in** and **be dressed in**: *She always dresses in black. | I'll be dressed in a red coat.*
**dress sbdy, $\Leftrightarrow$ down** *phr v* [T] to attack angrily in words (someone who has done something wrong); TELL OFF -**dressing-'down** *n: The naughty children got a good dressing-down.*
**dress up** *phr v* **1** [| (as, in)] (usually of children) to wear someone else's clothes for fun and pretence: *to dress up as an astronaut | The little girl likes dressing up (in her mother's clothes).* **2** [I] to put on formal clothes or one's best clothes: *Don't bother to dress up for the party.* **3** [T(as, in) (dress sbdy./sthg. $\Leftrightarrow$ up)] to make (something or someone) seem different or more attractive: *He dressed the facts up to make them more interesting.*
**dress$^2$** *n* **1** [C] an article of clothing for a woman or girl, with or without SLEEVES, that covers the body from shoulder to knee or below $\rightarrow$ compare SKIRT$^1$ **2** [U] (*in comb.*) clothing of the stated kind: *national dress | actors wearing period dress (=the clothes of another age) | Do we have to wear evening dress for this party?* $\rightarrow$ see also FULL DRESS, MORNING DRESS; see CLOTHES (USAGE)
**dress$^3$** *adj* [A no comp.] **1** of or used for a dress: *dress material* **2** (of clothing) suitable for a formal occasion: *a dress shirt/suit* **3** (of an occasion) at which formal or special clothes are worn $\rightarrow$ see also DRESS CIRCLE, DRESS REHEARSAL
**dres.sage** /'dress:ʒ\|dr$'sa:ʒ/ *n* [U] the performance by a trained horse of various actions as a result of slight movements by the rider
**'dress ,circle** *n* the first or lowest curved row of raised seats in a theatre
**dress.er** /'dresə/ *n* **1** especially *BrE* a piece of furniture for holding dishes and other articles used in eating, with open shelves above and cupboards below **2** *AmE* a CHEST OF DRAWERS used especially for clothing, often with a mirror on top **3** a person who looks after clothes in the theatre and helps actors to dress **4** someone who dresses in the stated way: *a fashionable/snappy/sloppy dresser*
**dress.ing** /'dresɪŋ/ *n* **1** [U] the act of a person who dresses: *Dressing is difficult for her since her accident.* **2** [C] material used to cover a wound: *to put on a clean dressing* **3** [C;U] a usually liquid mixture for adding to a dish, especially a SALAD: *a French dressing* **4** [U] *AmE* for STUFFING $\rightarrow$ see also SALAD DRESSING, WINDOW DRESSING
**'dressing gown** especially *BrE* || **bathrobe** *AmE - n* a garment rather like a long loose coat, worn indoors when a person is not fully dressed, especially after getting up in the morning $\rightarrow$ see also BATHROBE
**'dressing room** *n* a room used for dressing, especially in a theatre
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**'dressing ,table** also **vanity table** *AmE - n* a low table with a mirror, usually in a bedroom, at which one sits to arrange one's hair etc
**dress.mak.er** /'dres,meɪkə/ *n* a person, usually a woman, who makes clothes according to customers' specific requests. Few people now have their clothes made by dressmakers as it is much more expensive than buying them OFF-THE-PEG (ready-made). $\Rightarrow$ compare TAILOR$^1$ --**making** *n* [U]
**'dress re,hearsal** *n* the last REHEARSAL (=practice performance) of a play when the actors wear the special clothes prepared for public performance of the play
**'dress ,sense** *n* [U] a knowledge of or skill with clothes; an ability to make oneself attractive and presentable: *She's got no/a good dress sense.*
**dress.y** /'dresi/ *adj* **1** (of clothes) for formal, not ordinary, wear **2** sometimes *derog* (of a person) fashionable in dress
**drew** /dru:/ *past tense of* DRAW
**Drew, Nan.cy** /'nænsi/ the main character in US books for children. Nancy Drew is a brave young woman who is a DETECTIVE (=someone whose job is to discover information about crimes and catch criminals).
**Drey.fus, Al.fred** /'dreɪfəs, 'ælfr$d$/ (1859-1935) a French army officer who was put in prison in 1894 for selling military secrets to the Germans. It was soon discovered that he was not guilty, and many French writers and politicians protested about him being in prison, especially the writer Emile ZOLA, who wrote a famous newspaper article with the title 'J'accuse!' (=I accuse). But the army and many newspapers persuaded the government to keep him in prison because they had an unreasonable dislike of him because he was Jewish. He was eventually let out of prison and officially judged to be not guilty. These events became known as the Dreyfus Affair.
**Drey.fuss, Richard** /'dreɪfəs/ (1947-) an American actor whose films include American Graffiti, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He won an Oscar for his performance in The Goodbye Girl.
**drib.ble$^1$** /'drɪbəl/ *v* **1** [I] || usually **drool** *AmE* -to let the natural liquid (SALIVA) flow out slowly from the mouth: *The baby is dribbling. Can you wipe his mouth?* **2** [I;T] **a)** (of a liquid, especially saliva, or a powdery solid) to flow out in drops: *water dribbling from the pipe* **b)** to allow to do this: *This artist works by dribbling paint straight from the tube.* **3** [I;T] (in ball games) to move (the ball) by a number of short kicks, strokes, or BOUNCES
**dribble$^2$** *n* **1** a small thin flow; TRICKLE **2** an act of dribbling a ball
**drib.let** /'drɪbl$t$/ *n* a very small unimportant amount: *to pay the money in driblets*
**dribs** /drɪbz/ *n* **dribs and drabs** *infml* small unimportant amounts: *They're paying me back in dribs and drabs.*
**dried** /draɪd/ *past tense & participle of* DRY: *dried milk/flowers* $\rightarrow$ see also CUT-AND-DRIED
**,dried 'fruit** *n* [C,U] fruit dried either industrially or in the sun and used in cooking or eaten in its dried state
**,dried 'milk** also **powdered milk** *n* [U] milk which has been made into a powder by having the water taken out of it
**dri.er** /'draɪə/ *n* a DRYER
**drift$^1$** /drɪft/ *v* **1** [I] to float or be driven along by wind, waves, or currents: *They drifted out to sea. | (fig.) She just drifts aimlessly from job to job. | (fig.) They had been married for a long time but gradually drifted apart until they separated. | (fig.) The conversation drifted from one subject to another.* **2** [I;T] to (cause to) pile up under the force of the wind or water: *The snow was drifting in great piles against the house. | leaves drifted by the wind*
**drift$^2$** *n* **1** [C] a mass of something, such as snow or sand, blown together by wind: *a drift of dead leaves | a snowdrift* **2** [C;U] a general tendency or movement: *the drift of young people from the country to the city | We must stop this drift towards war.* **3** [S] the general meaning; GIST: *I'm sorry. I can't quite catch the drift of what you're saying.*
**drift.er** /'drɪftə/ *n* **1** often *derog* a person who travels or moves about aimlessly or who has no aim in life **2** a fishing boat that uses a floating net (**a driftnet**)
**drift.wood** /'drɪftwʊd/ *n* [U] wood floating on water and