dress rehearsal

noun

1

: a full rehearsal (as of a play) in costume and with stage properties shortly before the first performance

2

: a practice exercise for something to come : dry run

Examples of dress rehearsal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His third time definitely was not the charm, but keep in mind that Gillis did (basically) the exact same monologue hours earlier at dress rehearsal. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026

And additional props to SNL’s YouTube channel, for releasing the (censored) live version of the sketch instead of the dress rehearsal. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2026

Today's wet dress rehearsal, which involves fully fueling Starship on the launch pad for a full countdown simulation run, is expected to wrap up later this morning. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 24 Sep. 2026

This is not a dress rehearsal, said Stephen Witt in The New York Times. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dress rehearsal

• universal
• bursal
• versal
• dispersal
• reversal
• transversal
• traversal

Kids Definition

dress rehearsal

noun

: a rehearsal of a play in costume and with stage properties shortly before the first performance