dress up
[verb]
Synonyms: adorn, beautify, bedeck, deck, decorate, embellish, garnish, ornament, prank, trim
[verb]
Synonyms: deck (out), dike (out or up), doll out, doll up, dude up, fix up, gussy up, prank, prick (up), primp, prink (up), slick, smarten (up), smug, spiff, spruce (up), tog (out or up), toggle, trick (off, out, or up), disguise, camouflage, cloak, dissemble, dissimulate, mask

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Related Idioms: dress fit to kill, dress to the nines, put on the dog
Related Words: prettify, pretty (up), apparel, array, attire, clad, clothe, dress, enclothe, garb, garment, raiment, overdress, preen, prim (up)

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English Thesaurus: clothes, clothing, garment, dress, wear, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

dress up phrasal verb (see also dress)

1. to wear special clothes for fun, or to put special clothes on someone
dress up as
He went to the party dressed up as a Chicago gangster.
dress up in
I keep a box of old clothes for the children to dress up in.
dress somebody ↔ up
We dressed him up as a gorilla.

2. to wear clothes that are more formal than the ones you would usually wear:
It’s a small informal party – you don’t have to dress up.

3. dress something ↔ up to make something more interesting or attractive:
It was the old offer dressed up as something new.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

clothes noun [plural] things you wear to cover your body or keep you warm. Clothes is always plural:
I like your clothes!
Don’t throw your dirty clothes on the floor!
a clothes shop
clothing noun [uncountable] used when talking in general about a type of clothes, or about making or selling clothes. Also used in the phrase a piece/item/article of clothing (=one of the things that someone wears):
You’ll need to take some warm clothing.
It is important to wear protective clothing at all times.
a clothing manufacturer
a clothing retailer
Police found a piece of clothing in the bushes.
I took a change of clothing with me.
garment noun [countable] formal one thing that you wear. Also used when talking about buying and selling clothes:
a long velvet garment
the garment industry
garment workers
garment factories
dress noun [uncountable] a particular style of clothes. Don’t use dress on its own:
Casual dress is not appropriate for an interview.
men in evening dress
wear noun [uncountable] used about types of clothes sold in a shop, in the following phrases. Don’t use wear on its own:
children’s wear
sports wear
casual wear
gear noun [uncountable] /ɡɪə $ ɡɪr/ informal clothes for a particular sport or activity:
She was wearing her running gear.
Have you got all your gear?
wardrobe noun [singular] all the clothes that you own, or all the clothes that you wear at a particular time of year:
Her wardrobe consisted mainly of smart clothes for work.
I will need a new summer weardrobe.
You could win a complete new wardrobe!
get dressed to put on all your clothes:
You’d better get dressed! It’s almost time to leave for school!
put something on to put on a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc:
Wait – I just have to put my shoes on!
She was putting on her earrings in front of the mirror.
dress up to put on more formal clothes than you usually wear, or to put on special clothes for fun:
We always used to dress up to go to church.
Paul dressed up as a pirate for the party.
dress yourself to put on your clothes – used when this is difficult for someone because they are very old, young, injured etc:
He’s hurt his arm so badly that he can’t dress himself.
have something on to be wearing a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc. Have something on is more informal than wear:
I had my new blue top on.
He had on a red tie and a grey jacket.
The boy had nothing on!
be dressed in something especially written used especially in written descriptions when describing the clothes that someone is wearing:
Alistair was dressed in his best suit and tie.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

get dressed to put on all your clothes:
You’d better get dressed! It’s almost time to leave for school!
dress especially literary to put on all your clothes. Dress is used especially in literature. In everyday English, people usually say get dressed:
That day she dressed with extra care, choosing a brown velvet jacket that matched her skirt.
put something on to put on a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc:
Wait – I just have to put my shoes on!
She was putting on her earrings in front of the mirror.
dress up to put on more formal clothes than you usually wear, or to put on special clothes for fun:
We always used to dress up to go to church.
Paul dressed up as a pirate for the party.
dress yourself to put on your clothes – used when this is difficult for someone because they are very old, young, injured etc:
He’s hurt his arm so badly that he can’t dress himself.
wear to have a particular piece of clothing or a particular style of clothing on your body:
All visitors must wear a protective helmet.
She always wears black.
Can you tell me what the man was wearing?
have something on to be wearing a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc. Have something on is more informal than wear:
I had my new blue top on.
He had on a red tie and a grey jacket.
The boy had nothing on!
be dressed in something especially written used especially in written descriptions when describing the clothes that someone is wearing:
Alistair was dressed in his best suit and tie.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

dress something up
dress (something) up
to make something look better or different than it really is.
No matter how you dress it up, the fact is that we lost.

His business record is a string of failures dressed up as successes.

Usage notes: often followed by as, as in the second example
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of dress up (= to wear more formal clothes)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress up
dress (something) up
to make something look better or different than it really is.
No matter how you dress it up, the fact is that we lost.

His business record is a string of failures dressed up as successes.

Usage notes: often followed by as, as in the second example
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of dress up (= to wear more formal clothes)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress up
to put on/wear one's best clothes
I decided to dress up for dinner at the restaurant.

I decided to dress up to go to dinner on Saturday night.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress up
v.
1a. To put on best or special clothes.
Billy hated being dressed up and took off his best suit as soon as he got home from church.
1b. To put on a costume for fun or clothes for a part in a play.
Mary was dressed up to play Cinderella in her school play.
2. To make (something) look different; make (something) seem better or more important.
A fresh coat of paint will dress up the old bicycle very much.
Tommy dressed up the story of what he did on vacation and made it seem twice as interesting as it was.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲