dress down

verb

dressed down; dressing down; dresses down

transitive verb

: to reprove severely

intransitive verb

: to dress casually especially for reasons of fashion

Synonyms

• baste
• bawl out
• berate
• call down
• castigate
• chastise
• chew out
• flay
• hammer
• jaw
• keelhaul
• lambaste
• lambast
• lecture
• rag
• rail (at or against)
• rant (at)
• rate
• ream (out)
• rebuke
• reprimand
• reproach
• scold
• score
• tongue-lash
• upbraid

Examples of dress down in a Sentence

dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance

Recent Examples on the Web

The Free Assembly Spring Collection is filled with timeless options, including polo shirts, patchwork jeans, pleated skirts, and button down tops that can easily be dressed up to the office or a date night or dressed down for trips to the grocery store, beachside walks, or cozy days indoors. —Alicia Geigel, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Feb. 2025

What to Know Meghan dressed down for the selfie video in blue jeans and a black top which bore the names of her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025

Elsa Hosk dressed down a blazer with denim at Valentino‘s spring 2025 couture fashion show in Paris on Wednesday. —Hannah Malach, WWD, 29 Jan. 2025

There were few in the sharply dressed and cavernous Palm Springs Convention Center who dressed down. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

dress down

verb

1

: to criticize severely

2

: to dress casually