Phrase guide

cocktail dress

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A type of women's evening dress suitable for semiformal occasions or cocktail parties.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a dress suitable for formal occasions

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sheath

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dress, frock

History

Etymology

Apparently coined by Christian Dior in the late 1940s to refer to early-evening wear.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 小禮服 /小礼服 (xiǎolǐfú) — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Finnish: cocktail-mekko — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • German: Cocktailkleid — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Hungarian: koktélruha — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Japanese: カクテルドレス (kakuteru doresu) — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Romanian: rochie de cocktail — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Russian: выходно́е пла́тье (vyxodnóje plátʹje) — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Spanish: vestido de cóctel — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties
  • Swedish: cocktailklänning — woman's evening dress suitable for cocktail parties