Meaning & use
halter dress
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A woman's dress with straps that go around the back of the neck, leaving the shoulders and upper back bare.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a halter dress' or 'halter dresses'.
Patterns
- wear a halter dress
- a halter dress with a tie neck
She wore a white halter dress to the summer party.
The halter dress tied at the back of her neck and left her shoulders bare.
Halter dresses are popular for warm-weather weddings.
Word forms
| plural | halter dresses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a halter dress with a tie neck
- She chose a halter dress with a tie neck for the beach wedding.
- wear a halter dress
- You can wear a halter dress to a cocktail party.
- a long halter dress
- A long halter dress looks elegant for evening events.
- a halter dress in silk
- The designer showed a halter dress in silk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- halter-neck dress
- British English often uses 'halter-neck dress' for the same style.
- backless dress
- A backless dress may also have a halter neck, but it specifically means the back is open, not just the shoulders.
Word family
- halter noun
- The strap or top that goes around the neck; also a rope for an animal's head.
- halter top noun
- A woman's top with straps that tie behind the neck, not a dress.
- halter-neck adjective
- Describing a garment with a neck strap, as in 'a halter-neck top'.
Commonly confused: halter dress or halter top?
halter dress vs halter top
A halter top is a separate upper garment, while a halter dress is a full dress.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'halter dress' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A halter dress is a dress with neck straps, so option 0 fits. Option 1 is wrong because it's typically a woman's garment. Option 2 is wrong because it's clothing, not footwear. Option 3 is wrong because halter dresses leave the shoulders bare, not covered by sleeves and a collar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “halter dress”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.