See Also: tie-over dressing(medicine)
dry dressing(medicine)
dressing(dictionary)
dressing-up(dictionary)
dressing-down(dictionary)
Dressing(health)
dressing(dictionary)
Dressing(medicine)
dressing table(dictionary)
power dressing(dictionary)

dressing (iou)



dressing noun. LME.
[from DRESS verb + -ING1.]
gen. The action of DRESS verb; an instance of this. LME.
window-dressing: see WINDOW noun.
J. K. Jerome As a girl, she never understood dressing.
spec.
a. The action of preparing or finishing various materials. LME.
mineral dressing, ore dressing, etc.
b. A beating, a thrashing; a scolding, an upbraiding. Now usu. dressing down. M18.
c. Military. The proper alignment of troops. L18.
d. dressing up, the action or practice of dressing in masquerade or in special clothes as an entertainment, or of dressing in one's best clothes or clothes for a formal occasion. M19.
attrib.: A. Wilson Strange old hats and frocks in the dressing-up box in the nursery.
(A) sauce or other mixture added to food, esp. a salad; a seasoning; stuffing. E16.
French dressing, salad-dressing, thousand island dressing, vinaigrette dressing, etc.
sing. & (usu.) in pl. (Decorative) clothing. Now rare. E17.
A piece of material placed directly on to a wound or diseased area. E18.
Manure, compost, or other fertilizer spread over or ploughed into land to improve it. M18.
Practical Gardening A dressing of bonemeal during the late autumn is usually productive.
A glaze, stiffening, or other preparation used in the finishing of fabrics. E19.
Comb.: dressing-box (now rare) a dressing-case; dressing-case: used for holding toilet articles; dressing-chest a piece of bedroom furniture with a flat top and storage facilities, for use while dressing (duchesse dressing-chest: see DUCHESSE 2); dressing-comb: used for dressing the hair; dressing forceps: used in applying and removing surgical dressings; dressing-gown a loose robe worn while one is not fully dressed, while resting, etc.; Hist. any loose informal gown; dressing-room a place for dressing or for changing one's clothes, esp. in a theatre, a sports centre, or attached to a bedroom; dressing-station a place for giving emergency treatment to the wounded; dressing-table a piece of bedroom furniture with a flat top, an upright mirror, and usu. drawers underneath for use while dressing, arranging one's hair, applying make-up, etc. (duchesse dressing-table: see DUCHESSE 2).