to dress to kill
1
6.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
vestirse para impresionar
- Don't you think he dressed to kill last night?
Examples
-
At the awards ceremony, every guest seemed to dress to kill.
-
She dresses to kill for parties.
-
He told his friend to dress to kill for the big job interview.
-
She likes to dress to kill whenever she goes out for the evening.
-
She always dresses to kill when she goes to a party.
-
He decided to dress to kill for his big interview.
-
Everybody noticed how she dressed to kill for the gala event.
Synonyms
11
5.7
To be well dressed and neat
8
7.2
To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully
1
8.9
To make something or someone look bright and showy to attract attention
To put on special clothes to look attractive for an event
To put on special clothes to look nice for an event
Dress yourself or others in fancy clothes to look impressive
To put on fancy clothes to look good
To dress in nice clothes for a special event
To dress someone or make them act in a showy, fashionable way
Antonyms
How Impressive
- Informal
1
6.2
- Informal
3
7.6
- Informal
1
5.6
1
2.4
- Informal
1
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
dress + to + kill
The phrase uses a metaphorical/intensifying sense of 'kill' (meaning to overwhelm or dazzle) rather than the literal sense of causing death, so the meaning 'dress very attractively to impress' is not a straightforward composition of 'dress' + 'to' + 'kill'. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely not reliably infer the specific sense without prior exposure, though there is a loose metaphorical link, making the expression partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Dress to kill may come from old slang where kill meant 'to amaze' or 'stun' people; imagine someone dressed so strikingly that they stop everyone and amaze them. That's why dress to kill means 'to dress very attractively to impress others'.