Meaning & use
dress smartly
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Meanings
phraseintransitive
To put on neat, fairly formal clothes that suit a serious or special occasion.
Grammar: Used without an object, and it describes the whole outfit rather than one garment: you dress smartly for a wedding, not dress smartly a shirt.
Patterns
- dress smartly for something
- dress smartly to do something
Guests are asked to dress smartly for the award ceremony.
He always dresses smartly for parent-teacher meetings.
If you want the job, dress smartly and arrive early.
phrasetransitive
To choose formal, well-matched clothes for someone else, especially a child or client.
Grammar: Takes an object: dress someone smartly, often in the passive: the children were dressed smartly.
Patterns
- dress someone smartly
- be dressed smartly
The stylist dressed her smartly in a navy suit for the interview.
The children were dressed smartly for the school photograph.
Common combinations
- dress smartly for an occasion
- They dressed smartly for the occasion and took lots of photos.
- dress smartly for work
- She dresses smartly for work even on Fridays.
- dress smartly but comfortably
- Try to dress smartly but comfortably for the long flight.
- be dressed smartly
- Everyone at the reception was dressed smartly in dark colors.
- smartly dressed
- A smartly dressed man held the door open for us.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dress up
- Suggests more effort and a special occasion, and can mean fancier, more eye-catching clothes than 'dress smartly'.
- dress formally
- Stronger and more specific: it points to strict formal rules such as a suit or evening dress, while 'dress smartly' only means neat and fairly formal.
- look smart
- Focuses on the impression you give rather than the act of putting clothes on.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dress smartly or dress sharply?
dress smartly vs dress sharply
'Sharply' stresses a very bold, fashionable style, which can sound flashy; 'smartly' is safer for formal or professional settings.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dress smartly' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is intransitive, so it is followed by 'for' plus the occasion: 'dress smartly for the meeting'. Option 1 wrongly adds an object, and 'to' and 'of' do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dress smartly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.