Best Prom Dress

–adjective, superl. of good with better as compar.

1.	of the highest quality, excellence, or standing: the best work; the best students.

2.	most advantageous, suitable, or desirable: the best way.

3.	largest; most: the best part of a day.

–adverb, superl. of well with better as compar.

4.	most excellently or suitably; with most advantage or success: an opera role that best suits her voice.

5.	in or to the highest degre 22d e; most fully (usually used in combination): best-suited; best-known; best-loved.

–noun

6.	something or someone that is best: They always demand and get the best. The best of us can make mistakes.

7.	a person's finest clothing: It's important that you wear your best.

8.	a person's most agreeable or desirable emotional state (often prec. by at).

9.	a person's highest degree of competence, inspiration, etc. (often prec. by at).

10.	the highest quality to be found in a given activity or category of things (often prec. by at): cabinetmaking at its best.

11.	the best effort that a person, group, or thing can make: Their best fell far short of excellence.

12.	a person's best wishes or kindest regards: Please give my best to your father.

–verb (used with object)

13.	to get the better of; defeat; beat: He easily bested his opponent in hand-to-hand combat. She bested me in the argument.

—Idioms

14.	all for the best, for the good as the final result; to an ultimate advantage: At the time it was hard to realize how it could be all for the best. Also, for the best.

15.	as best one can, in the best way possible under the circumstances: We tried to smooth over the disagreement as best we could.

16.	at best, under the most favorable circumstances: You may expect to be treated civilly, at best.

17.	get or have the best of, a. to gain the advantage over. b. to defeat; subdue: His arthritis gets the best of him from time to time.

18.	had best, would be wisest 2c1 or most reasonable to; ought to: You had best phone your mother to tell her where you are going.

19.	make the best of, to cope with in the best way possible: to make the best of a bad situation.

20.	with the best, on a par with the most capable: He can play bridge with the best.

–noun

1.	an outer garment for women and girls, consisting of bodice and skirt in one piece.

2.	clothing; apparel; garb: The dress of the 18th century was colorful.

3.	formal attire.

4.	a particular form of appearance; guise.

5.	outer covering, as the plumage of birds.

–adjective

6.	of or for a dress or dresses.

7.	of or for a formal occasion.

8.	requiring formal dress.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to put clothing upon.

10.	to put formal or evening clothes on.

11.	to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.

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12.	to design clothing for or sell clothes to.

13.	to comb out and do up (hair).

14.	to cut up, trim, and remove the skin, feathers, viscera, etc., from (an animal, meat, fowl, or flesh of a fowl) for market or for cooking (often fol. by out when referring to a large animal): We dressed three chickens for the dinner. He dressed out the deer when he got back to camp.

15.	to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.

16.	to apply medication or a dressing to (a wound or sore).

17.	to make straight; bring (troops) into line: to dress 5af ranks.

18.	to make (stone, wood, or other building material) smooth.

19.	to cultivate (land, fields, etc.).

20.	Theater. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.

21.	to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.

22.	Angling. a. to prepare or bait (a fishhook) for use. b. to prepare (bait, esp. an artificial fly) for use.

23.	Printing. to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.

2 933 4.

to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.

–verb (used without object)

25.	to clothe or attire oneself; put on one's clothes: Wake up and dress, now!

26.	to put on or wear formal or fancy clothes: to dress for dinner.

27.	to come into line, as troops.

28.	to align oneself with the next soldier, marcher, dancer, etc., in line.

—Verb phrases

29.	dress down, a. to reprimand; scold. b. to thrash; beat. c. to dress informally or less formally: to dress down for the shipboard luau.

30.

dress up, a. to put on one's best or fanciest clothing; dress relatively formally: They were dressed up for the Easter parade. b. to dress in costume or in another person's clothes: to dress up in Victorian clothing; to dress up as Marie Antoinette. c. to embellish or disguise, esp. in order to make more appealing or acceptable: to dress up the facts with colorful details.

—Idiom

31.	dress ship, a. to decorate a ship by hoisting lines of flags running its full length. b. U.S. Navy. to display the national ensigns at each masthead and a larger ensign on the flagstaff.