dress down
[verb]
Synonyms: scold, bawl out, berate, bless out, chew out, lash, rail, ream out, tell off, tongue-lash

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

dress down phrasal verb (see also dress)

1. to wear clothes that are more informal than the ones you would usually wear:
In many offices, people dress down on Fridays.

2. dress somebody ↔ down to speak angrily to someone about something they have done wrong
⇒ dressing-down

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

dress down
dress (someone) down
to tell someone angrily what they have done wrong.
She dressed him down in front of a large group of his co-workers.

He dresses down players on their performance in the games.

to wear informal clothes.
I dress down if I know I'm just going to be moving boxes of documents at work.

Usage notes: often said about wearing informal clothes at work

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress down
to scold someone
The supervisor took the clerk into her office to dress her down.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress down
{v.}, {informal} To scold.
Jim was called down by his teacher for being late to class.

Mother called Bob down for walking into the kitchen with muddy boots.
Compare: CALL ON THE CARPET, CHEW OUT, BAWL OUT, READ THE RIOT ACT.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress someone down
dress (someone) down
to tell someone angrily what they have done wrong.
She dressed him down in front of a large group of his co-workers.

He dresses down players on their performance in the games.

to wear informal clothes.
I dress down if I know I'm just going to be moving boxes of documents at work.

Usage notes: often said about wearing informal clothes at work

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

dress someone down
to scold someone
The supervisor took the clerk into her office to dress her down.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲