dress up
phr. v..phr. v.. to wear special clothes to look nice or to look like someone else for fun.
phr. v.. to wear formal or elegant clothing for a special occasion, or to wear a costume for entertainment or roleplay.
I love to dress up for a fancy dinner.
The children decided to dress up as pirates for the birthday party.
While the gala requires guests to dress up in black-tie attire, the after-party allows for a more relaxed dress code.
- Particles
- up
- Separability
- optional
- Pattern
- dress + up (+ object)
often used with 'as' when wearing a costume or 'for' when attending an event.
distinguish between the 'formal' sense (wearing a suit) and the 'costume' sense (wearing a mask); in British English, 'fancy dress' specifically refers to the costume sense.
I need to dress up myself for the wedding.I need to dress up for the wedding.the verb is usually intransitive or reflexive-implied; adding 'myself' is redundant and sounds unnatural.