Steal short dress (3)
I believe the answer is:
rob
'steal' is the definition.
(robbing is a kind of stealing)
'short dress' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'dress' becomes 'robe' (robing is a kind of dressing).
'robe' with its last letter removed is 'ROB'.
(Other definitions for rob that I've seen before include "Plunder" , "Burgle" , "Mug, say" , "Unlawfully take property from (someone)" , "Steal from (someone)" .)