SKIP TO CONTENT

dress rehearsal

/ˌdrɛs rəˌˈhʌrsəl/
/drɛs rəˈhʌsəl/
IPA guide

Other forms: dress rehearsals

When you're preparing for a live performance, your last practice session will probably be a dress rehearsal, with all of the performers wearing the costumes or outfits they'll wear during the actual event.

In the theater, a dress rehearsal gives the actors a chance to say their lines and hit their marks one last time before opening night. It's called a dress rehearsal because performers wear their full costume and makeup, dressed just as they will be during the performance. You can also use this term figuratively, for anything you're trying out: "Before the first day at our new school, let's have a dress rehearsal and walk over there to make sure we know the way."

Definitions of dress rehearsal
  1. noun
    a full uninterrupted rehearsal in costumes shortly before the first performance
    see moresee less
    type of:
    dry run, rehearsal
    a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert)
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘dress rehearsal'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family