fancy-dress
/ˌfænsi ˈdres/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌfænsi ˈdres/ (ame, ipa)
fancy-dress — noun
1. a set of special clothes that someone wears to a party where guests are expected
a set of special clothes that someone wears to a party where guests are expected to dress up as a particular character, creature, or famous person — for example, a vampire, a superhero, or a historical king.
For Eleni's birthday party, guests wore fancy-dress costumes based on their favourite film characters.
collocation: wear fancy-dress costume
Sayaka spent weeks making a fancy-dress sunflower outfit and won the best-costume prize.
collocation: make + fancy-dress outfit
Omar built a robot costume from cardboard boxes and won the fancy-dress competition at school.
The school parade had children in fancy dress as pirates, princesses, dinosaurs, and astronauts.
David went to a fancy-dress shop and bought a vampire cape before the party.
- costume
The general term for any set of clothes worn to look like someone or something else; the most common word in American English
- outfit
More informal, often refers to a complete set of clothes including accessories for a particular occasion
- get-up
Very informal, sometimes humorous; a full set of clothes that looks unusual or striking
- disguise
Emphasizes hiding your identity rather than showing a character; often associated with secrecy
- everyday clothes
Regular, non-costume clothing worn in daily life
- formal wear
Elegant clothing worn at formal events but not meant to impersonate a character
文法句型
be in fancy dress
wear fancy dress
用法筆記
In British English, a 'fancy-dress party' means a costume party where guests dress up as specific characters. The equivalent American English term is 'costume party'. 'Fancy dress' itself is uncountable — you say 'He was wearing fancy dress', not 'a fancy dress' (though 'a fancy-dress costume' is fine). Often used as an adjective before another noun, especially 'party', 'costume', and 'shop'.