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dress down — 2 meanings

One phrase, 2 meanings. Learn them one at a time, then test yourself.

phrasal verb2 meanings
dress down
wear casual clothescriticize

Meaning 1 · most common

wear casual clothes

  • dress down for sth

to wear clothes that are more casual and relaxed than usual, especially instead of formal or work clothes.

How oftenCommon
LevelB1
Used inSpeech & writing

Examples

On Fridays, we can dress down and wear jeans to the office.

A: Are you wearing a suit to the party?
B: No, it's casual, so I'm going to dress down.

Common mistake

Not: We dress down ourselves on Fridays.

Say: We dress down on Fridays.

'Dress down' is intransitive — no reflexive object.

More on “wear casual clothes”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

At my university, we usually dress down for lectures, but we dress up for presentations.

Tell it apart

We dress down on Fridays.

  • wear casual clothes

We dress up for the gala.

  • wear smart/formal clothes

Goes with

  • dress down + occasion
Practice saying this
Next meaning: criticize

Meaning 2

criticize

  • dress sb down for sth
  • informal

to speak angrily to someone because they have done something wrong; to scold or reprimand.

How oftenNow and then
LevelB2
Used inMostly spoken

Examples

The manager dressed him down for being late again.

A: You look upset. What happened?
B: My coach dressed me down in front of the whole team.

Common mistake

Not: The coach dressed down to the players.

Say: The coach dressed down the players. / dressed the players down.

'Dress down' takes the person directly — no 'to'.

More on “criticize”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

If an employee makes a serious mistake, their boss might dress them down to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Tell it apart

The boss dressed him down for being late.

  • told him off sharply

On Fridays we dress down.

  • wear casual clothes

Goes with

  • dress + person + down
Practice saying this
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wear casual clothescriticize