From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdress down phrasal verb1 DCto wear clothes that are more informal than the ones you would usually wear In many offices, people dress down on Fridays.2 dress somebody ↔ downTELL somebody OFF to speak angrily to someone about something they have done wrong → dressing-downTHESAURUSto put on clothesget dressed to put on all your clothesYou’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 dressedThat 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 etcWait – 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 funWe 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 etcHe’s hurt his arm so badly that he can’t dress himself.to be wearing clotheswear to have a particular piece of clothing or a particular style of clothing on your bodyAll 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 wearI 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 wearingAlistair was dressed in his best suit and tie. → dress→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dress down• We dress down at work these days, unless we're going to a client meeting. 