Meaning of 'dressing down'?

[Janaja]

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", question 5

I've witnessed an employee screaming at her manager in a store, another worker stomping out of a restaurant, and a boss ......... an employee in a public place.

(a) dressing up
(b) dressing down
(c) dressing gown
(d) dressing room

Business Idiom in English, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #174 "Dressing expressions", answer 5

I've witnessed an employee screaming at her manager in a store, another worker stomping out of a restaurant, and a boss dressing down an employee in a public place.

Correct answer: (b) dressing down

Your answer was: ?
_________________________

dressing down? What does it mean?

Jana

[Conchita]

Dressing down means speaking to (someone) angrily.

It can be used as a noun, too:

His mother gave him a dressing-down for rolling in the mud.