v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dressed r Drest; p. pr. & vb. n. Dressing. ] [ OF. drecier to make straight, raise, set up, prepare, arrange, F. dresser, (assumed) LL. directiare, fr. L. dirigere, directum, to direct; dis- + regere to rule. See Right, and cf. Address, Adroit, Direct, Dirge. ] 1. To direct; to put right or straight; to regulate; to order. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

At all times thou shalt bless God and pray Him to dress thy ways. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Dress is used reflexively in Old English, in sense of “to direct one's step; to address one's self.” [ 1913 Webster ]

To Grisild again will I me dresse. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) To arrange in exact continuity of line, as soldiers; commonly to adjust to a straight line and at proper distance; to align; as, to dress the ranks. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med.) To treat methodically with remedies, bandages, or curative appliances, as a sore, an ulcer, a wound, or a wounded or diseased part. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To adjust; to put in good order; to arrange; specifically: (a) To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready; as, to dress a slain animal; to dress meat; to dress leather or cloth; to dress or trim a lamp; to dress a garden; to dress a horse, by currying and rubbing; to dress grain, by cleansing it; in mining and metallurgy, to dress ores, by sorting and separating them. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it. Gen. ii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

When he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense. Ex. xxx. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

Three hundred horses . . . smoothly dressed. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dressing their hair with the white sea flower. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

If he felt obliged to expostulate, he might have dressed his censures in a kinder form. Carlyle.

(b) To cut to proper dimensions, or give proper shape to, as to a tool by hammering; also, to smooth or finish.

(c) To put in proper condition by appareling, as the body; to put clothes upon; to apparel; to invest with garments or rich decorations; to clothe; to deck. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dressed myself in such humility. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy return. Shak.

(d) To break and train for use, as a horse or other animal. [ 1913 Webster ]

To dress up or
To dress out, to dress elaborately, artificially, or pompously. “You see very often a king of England or France dressed up like a Julius Cæsar.” Addison. --
To dress a ship (Naut.), to ornament her by hoisting the national colors at the peak and mastheads, and setting the jack forward; when dressed full, the signal flags and pennants are added. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Syn. -- To attire; apparel; clothe; accouter; array; robe; rig; trim; deck; adorn; embellish. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. (Mil.) To arrange one's self in due position in a line of soldiers; -- the word of command to form alignment in ranks; as, Dress right, dress! [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To clothe or apparel one's self; to put on one's garments; to pay particular regard to dress; as, to dress quickly. “To dress for a ball.” Latham. [ 1913 Webster ]

To flaunt, to dress, to dance, to thrum. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To dress to the right,
To dress to the left,
To dress on the center (Mil.), to form alignment with reference to the soldier on the extreme right, or in the center, of the rank, who serves as a guide. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which is used as the covering or ornament of the body; clothes; garments; habit; apparel. “In your soldier's dress.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A lady's gown; as, silk or a velvet dress. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Attention to apparel, or skill in adjusting it. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men of pleasure, dress, and gallantry. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Milling) The system of furrows on the face of a millstone. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dress parade (Mil.), a parade in full uniform for review. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. maneuvers of a horse in response to body signals by the rider. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. A gallery or balcony in a theater, generally the first above the floor, in which originally dress clothes were customarily worn. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

A coat with skirts behind only, as distinct from the frock coat, of which the skirts surround the body. It is worn on occasions of ceremony. The dress coat of officers of the United States army is a full-skirted frock coat. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. same as attired.
Syn. -- appareled, attired, clad, garbed, garmented, habilimented, robed. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. covered with medication or a bandage ; -- of wounds.
Syn. -- bandaged. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

3. trim and smooth; -- of lumber or stone.
Syn. -- polished. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

pred. adj. attired in strikingly attractive clothing; -- usually of women. [ PJC ]

adj. attired in fancy or formal clothing. [ Narrower terms: dressed to kill(predicate) ]
Syn. -- dressed to the nines(predicate), dolled up, spruced up, spiffed up. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. dressoir. See Dress, v. t. ] A piece of chamber furniture consisting of a chest of drawers, or bureau, with a mirror. [ U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]