dress up

dress up (third-person singular simple present dresses up, present participle dressing up, simple past and past participle dressed up)

1. (intransitive) To put on special or fancy clothes.

   Synonym: (US) gussy up

   Antonym: dress down

   Everyone dressed up for the graduation ball.

   I want a job where I don't have to dress up.

   • 2014 December 26, Richard Castka, “Runners brave chilly weather in Boxing Day Run”, in South China Morning Post‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-07-25, Sport‎:

     Runners had a fun day out in Friday's HKLRRC Boxing Day Race at Wan Chai Gap with most of the participants dressed up in costumes and braving the chilly weather.

2. (intransitive, often with 'as') To put on a costume portraying oneself as a particular type of character or well-known person.

   We're having a party on Saturday, but you must dress up as a famous historical figure.

3. (transitive, often with 'as') To put a costume on (someone) portraying them as a particular type of character or well-known person.

   The cat hated when they dressed him up for Halloween.

4. (transitive) To decorate; to prettify.
   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     Mistress, your father prays you leave your books,
     And help to dress your sister’s chamber up:
     You know to-morrow is the wedding-day.

5. (transitive) To present in a favorable light.

   Synonym: spin

   You can dress up that proposal however you want; it's still going to go over like a lead balloon.

• cosplay

• dressed up
• dress-up (noun)