Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To dress oneself more formally or elaborately than appropriate or desirable.
- intransitive verb To dress (oneself) more formally or elaborately than appropriate or desirable.
- noun A skirted garment, such as a pinafore, worn over other outer clothing.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To dress to excess; dress with too much display and ornament.
- noun Any garment worn over another in such a way as to combine with it in forming a dress; any part of costume which is obviously intended to be worn over another.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To dress or adorn to excess; to dress too much; to dress too formally for an informal occasion.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
wear too many clothes for a particular occasion. - verb To wear clothing which is too elaborate or formal for a particular occasion.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
- verb dress too warmly
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word overdress.
Examples
-
Nevertheless, it is usually better to overdress a bit than to be under-dressed.
Karen Atkinson: Career Options for Creatives (Finding a Job) Karen Atkinson 2011
-
Nevertheless, it is usually better to overdress a bit than to be under-dressed.
Karen Atkinson: Career Options for Creatives (Finding a Job) Karen Atkinson 2011
-
She wore a deep yellow brocade overdress with silver lace at the neck and sleeves, the skirt open in front to show a petticoat of white silk with silver interweavings.
George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011
-
Nevertheless, it is usually better to overdress a bit than to be under-dressed.
Karen Atkinson: Career Options for Creatives (Finding a Job) Karen Atkinson 2011
-
Nevertheless, it is usually better to overdress a bit than to be under-dressed.
Karen Atkinson: Career Options for Creatives (Finding a Job) Karen Atkinson 2011
-
She wore a deep yellow brocade overdress with silver lace at the neck and sleeves, the skirt open in front to show a petticoat of white silk with silver interweavings.
George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011
-
Pointing to a gown in the gallery titled “Romantic Exoticism,” Bolton noted that the overdress is made from a Japanese screen that McQueen took apart.
NY Met Museum Show on Deceased British Designer Drawing Crowds 2011
-
While Mr. Siriano often cautions women not to overdress for a first date, he gives the opposite advice to men.
What to Wear on a First Date Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan 2011
-
She wore a deep yellow brocade overdress with silver lace at the neck and sleeves, the skirt open in front to show a petticoat of white silk with silver interweavings.
George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011
-
Nevertheless, it is usually better to overdress a bit than to be under-dressed.
Karen Atkinson: Career Options for Creatives (Finding a Job) Karen Atkinson 2011
bilby commented on the word overdress
"Still, the new recruits turn out for training in the blistering heat in this stony desert landscape wearing, beneath their heavy uniforms, the smart red, green, and black warm-up outfits intended to encourage them to engage in off-duty exercise. American trainers recognize that recruits regularly wear all their gear at once for fear somebody will steal anything left behind in the barracks, but they take this overdressing as a sign of how much Afghans love the military."
- Ann Jones, Meet the Afghan Army, tomdispatch.com, 20 September 2009.
September 21, 2009