verb
dress
To align troops in straight ranks.
The sergeant dresses the troops into a straight line.
Etymology
The older verb includes making straight. The military sense keeps that physical meaning when troops adjust their positions to form aligned ranks.
More examples
- The soldiers dress their ranks before the inspection.
- The front row dressed to the right on command.
- The instructor checks the formation after dressing the recruits.
Forms
dress · dresses · dressed · dressing
Similar words
- align
- Can describe placing anything in a straight line.
- straighten
- Straighten removes unevenness; dress in military use aligns people in a rank.