English Phrasal Verbs – DRESS, Definitions and Example Sentences Dress sb up to give sb special clothes to wear Her mother loves to dress her up. Dress sb down to scold The manager dressed them down in front of the whole school. 100 Most Common Phrasal Verbs List with Meaning Dress sth up to make sth look better, more attactive,etc. The jeweler dressed his gold up. Dress down to wear informal clothes In this office, employees always dress down on fridays. Dress up to put on formal clothes