DRESSING

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dressing mean? 

• DRESSING (noun)
  The noun DRESSING has 7 senses:

1. savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type

2. a mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and vegetables

3. making fertile as by applying fertilizer or manure

4. a cloth covering for a wound or sore

5. processes in the conversion of rough hides into leather

6. the activity of getting dressed; putting on clothes

7. the act of applying a bandage

  Familiarity information: DRESSING used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DRESSING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Savory dressings for salads; basically of two kinds: either the thin French or vinaigrette type or the creamy mayonnaise type

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

dressing; salad dressing

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

sauce (flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dressing"):

Thousand Island dressing (mayonnaise with chili sauce or catsup and minced olives and peppers and hard-cooked egg)

salad cream (a creamy salad dressing resembling mayonnaise)

Russian dressing; Russian mayonnaise (mayonnaise with horseradish grated onion and chili sauce or catsup; sometimes with caviar added)

mayo; mayonnaise (egg yolks and oil and vinegar)

half-and-half dressing (half mayonnaise and half vinaigrette seasoned with minced garlic and mashed anchovies and grated Parmesan cheese; especially good for combination salads)

Italian dressing (a vinaigrette with garlic and herbs: oregano and basil and dill)

anchovy dressing (vinaigrette and mashed anchovies)

Lorenzo dressing (vinaigrette with chili sauce and chopped watercress)

French dressing; sauce vinaigrette; vinaigrette (oil and vinegar with mustard and garlic)

blue cheese dressing; Roquefort dressing (vinaigrette containing crumbled Roquefort or blue cheese)

bleu cheese dressing; blue cheese dressing (creamy dressing containing crumbled blue cheese)

sauce Louis (mayonnaise and heavy cream combined with chopped green pepper and green onion seasoned with chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice)

Derivation:

dress (put a dressing on)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and vegetables

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

dressing; stuffing

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

concoction; intermixture; mixture (any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dressing"):

turkey stuffing (stuffing for turkey)

farce; forcemeat (mixture of ground raw chicken and mushrooms with pistachios and truffles and onions and parsley and lots of butter and bound with eggs)

oyster dressing; oyster stuffing (stuffing made with oysters)

Derivation:

dress (kill and prepare for market or consumption)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Making fertile as by applying fertilizer or manure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

dressing; fecundation; fertilisation; fertilization

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

enrichment (act of making fuller or more meaningful or rewarding)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dressing"):

top dressing (a layer of fertilizer or manure not plowed in)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A cloth covering for a wound or sore

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

dressing; medical dressing

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

cloth covering (a covering made of cloth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dressing"):

bandage; patch (a piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body)

compress (a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever))

cataplasm; plaster; poultice (a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc.)

surgical dressing (a loosely woven cotton dressing for incisions made during surgery)

Derivation:

dress (apply a bandage or medication to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Processes in the conversion of rough hides into leather

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

conversion (the act of changing from one use or function or purpose to another)

Derivation:

dress (convert into leather)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The activity of getting dressed; putting on clothes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dressing; grooming

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

covering (the act of protecting something by covering it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dressing"):

primping (careful or finicky grooming)

toilet; toilette (the act of dressing and preparing yourself)

investment (the act of putting on robes or vestments)

Derivation:

dress (put on clothes)

dress (provide with clothes or put clothes on)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The act of applying a bandage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bandaging; binding; dressing

Hypernyms ("dressing" is a kind of...):

medical aid; medical care (professional treatment for illness or injury)

Derivation:

dress (apply a bandage or medication to)

 Context examples 

Now do let me please myself by dressing you up in style.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The procedure in which the exposed pulp is covered with a dressing that protects the pulp and promotes healing and repair.

(Direct Pulp Cap, NCI Thesaurus)

After a weary process, and resting every five minutes, I succeeded in dressing myself.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

This man shall have a leg up, and this man shall have a dressing down!

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Basic ADLs include eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet.

(ADL, NCI Dictionary)

I actually opened the box while I was dressing for dinner and saw the document inside.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

While they were dressing, he came two or three times to their different doors, to recommend their being quick, as Lady Catherine very much objected to be kept waiting for her dinner.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The man ran off, and within a few minutes the Professor, in his dressing gown and slippers, appeared.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Dressing myself as quietly as I could, and leaving Peggotty to look after my aunt, I tumbled head foremost into it, and then went for a walk to Hampstead.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

These activities include eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet.

(Activities of daily living, NCI Dictionary)