Note short dress on male (5)
I believe the answer is:
minim
'note' is the definition.
(minim is a kind of note)
'short dress on male' is the wordplay.
'short dress' becomes 'mini' (I've seen this before**).
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'mini'+'m'='MINIM'
(Other definitions for minim that I've seen before include "Note equal to two crochets" , "Beat" , "Half-note" , "Note of two crotchets" , "It's a downward stroke" .)