dress
/dɹes/
"dress" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dress” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,789. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,789
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To put clothes (or, formerly, armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dress · dress · English
dress · rank #1,789 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,789
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH connection
Nearest frequency peer: connection (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dress”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- cards
cards
98,215 corpus weight
- changing
changing
98,214 corpus weight
- connection
connection
98,213 corpus weight
- dress
dress
98,212 corpus weight
- easier
easier
98,211 corpus weight
- fellow
fellow
98,210 corpus weight
What this shows “dress” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dress |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɹes/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,789 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dress”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around dress (IPA /dɹes/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,789 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 31 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dress, with forms such as "ddress", "derss", and "dres". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "drew", "dues", "dyes", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *dwís The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *dīrēctiāre (“to guide, direct”), from Classical Latin dīrēctus, whence Eng… The correct English form is dress, spelled D-R-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1To put clothes (or, formerly, armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe.
- 2To put clothes (or, formerly, armour) on (oneself or someone, a doll, a mannequin, etc.); to clothe.
- 3To design, make, provide, or select clothes (for someone).
- 4To arrange or style (someone's hair).
- 5To adorn or ornament (something).
- 6To adorn or ornament (something).
- 7To adorn or ornament (something).
- 8To apply a dressing to or otherwise treat (a wound); (obsolete) to give (a wounded person) medical aid.
- 9To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 10To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 11To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 12To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 13To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 14To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.
- 15To cultivate or tend to (a garden, land, plants, etc.); especially, to add fertilizer or manure to (soil); to fertilize, to manure.
- 16To cut up (an animal or its flesh) for food.
- 17To prepare (food) for cooking or eating, especially by seasoning it; specifically, to add a dressing or sauce (to food, especially a salad).
- 18To design, make, or prepare costumes (for a play or other performance); also, to present (a production) in a particular costume style.
- 19To prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc.
- 20To arrange (soldiers or troops) into proper formation; especially, to adjust (soldiers or troops) into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other; to align.
- 21To treat (someone) in a particular manner; specifically, in an appropriate or fitting manner; (by extension, ironic) to give (someone) a deserved beating; also, to give (someone) a good scolding; to dress down.
- 22To break in and train (a horse or other animal) for use.
- 23To prepare (oneself); to make ready.
- 24To put on clothes.
- 25To put on clothes.
- 26Of a thing: to attain a certain condition after undergoing some process or treatment to fit or prepare it for use.
- 27To allow one's penis to fall to one side or the other within one's trousers.
- 28Ellipsis of cross-dress.
- 29Of an animal carcass: to have a certain quantity or weight after removal of the internal organs and skin; also, to have a certain appearance after being cut up and prepared for cooking.
- 30Of soldiers or troops: to arrange into proper formation; especially, to form into straight lines and at a proper distance from each other.
- 31Of a sportsperson: to put on the uniform and have the equipment needed to play a sport.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dress appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He was dressed in the latest fashions.
My kids are old enough to dress themselves now.
Etymology
PIE word *dwís The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *dīrēctiāre (“to guide, direct”), from Classical Latin dīrēctus, whence English direct. Further akin to Latin regō. The noun is derived from the verb. Compare typologically adorn (<< Latin ōrnō < ōrdō, whence also ōrdinō, English order, ornament); Russian наряжа́ть (narjažátʹ), наря́д (narjád) (akin to ряд (rjad), поря́док (porjádok)).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddress
- derss
- dres
- drress
- drses
- rdess
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dress - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dress", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).