noun
Common
dressing
DREH-sihng
Dressing (noun) means a sauce added to a salad or dish, often oil-based. Example: “Do you want oil and vinegar dressing on your side salad?”
noun
1
A sauce added to a salad or dish, often oil-based.
"Do you want oil and vinegar dressing on your side salad?"
"I made a creamy dressing with yoghurt, garlic and herbs."
"She tossed the leaves in a simple lemon dressing."
2
A protective covering or bandage applied to a wound.
"Keep the dressing dry until the doctor checks the wound next week."
"She put a clean dressing on her grazed knee after the fall."
"The nurse changed the dressing on his cut every day."
3
The act of getting dressed, or the clothes and accessories someone wears.
"Dressing the twins in the morning is a noisy job for their father."
"Dressing quickly in the dark, he put his jumper on back to front."
"Dressing for the wedding took her almost an hour."
How to use dressing
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA sauce for food, a bandage for a wound, or the act/style of putting on clothes — the exact meaning depends on context.
Common pairings
salad dressing
wound dressing
change the dressing
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like dressing.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Word forms
- Plural
- dressings
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Do you want oil and vinegar _____ on your side salad?
Etymology
Comes from Middle English dressing, dressinge or dressynge, equivalent to dress plus -ing.
Synonyms
View more →
vinaigrette
sauce
condiment
bandage
gauze
compress
binding
fertilisation
grooming
bandaging
fecundation
fertilization
Related words
Rhymes for dressing
Messing
Lessing
blessing
pressing
guessing
assessing
caressing
processing
expressing
addressing
depressing
witnessing
See all rhymes for dressing →
Frequently asked questions
What does “dressing” mean?
The word “dressing” means a sauce added to a salad or dish, often oil-based. In plain terms, a sauce for food, a bandage for a wound, or the act/style of putting on clothes — the exact meaning depends on context.
How do you pronounce “dressing”?
“Dressing” is pronounced DREH-sihng (/ˈdɹɛsɪŋ/ in IPA).
How do you use “dressing” in a sentence?
Here is “dressing” used in a sentence: “She tossed the leaves in a simple lemon dressing.”
What part of speech is “dressing”?
“Dressing” is a noun.
Is “dressing” a common word?
“Dressing” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “dressing” have?
“Dressing” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a sauce added to a salad or dish, often oil-based.
What is the difference between "dressing" and "sauce"?
A dressing is a specific kind of sauce used to coat a salad or dish, and it is often oil-based, such as a vinaigrette. All dressings are sauces in a broad sense, but the word "dressing" signals it is meant to be tossed with cold ingredients like salad greens.
What is the difference between a wound "dressing" and a "bandage"?
In wound care, a dressing is the protective covering placed directly on the wound to keep it clean and absorb fluid, while a bandage is the strip that holds a dressing in place. The words overlap in everyday speech, but strictly the dressing touches the wound and the bandage secures it.
What are common collocations with "dressing"?
In cooking, "dressing" pairs with words like salad, French, and Italian, as in "salad dressing." In medicine, it appears in phrases such as "apply a dressing," "sterile dressing," and "change the dressing."
Featured in
Vocabulary lists that include dressing:
