An armed man wore a wig and dress as a disguise to break into an elderly woman’s Bronx apartment — but was stopped dead in his heels by a brave neighbor who rushed to help after hearing the commotion.

The 38-year-old man broke into the apartment near East 202nd Street and Briggs Avenue in Jerome Park around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Once inside, he encountered the 83-year-old woman praying in her bedroom, police said.

He forced her at knifepoint to stay in the room, then ransacked the apartment, looking for prescription drugs and money, cops said.

When the victim’s downstairs neighbor, 35, heard the racket, he went into the hallway to see what was going on and encountered the thief trying to make a run for it.

The men started fighting and the brawl spilled out on the street, where the crook then dropped a gun, police said.

Cops showed up after witnesses called 911 to report the fracas. Officers searched the suspect and found a knife, a gun, the stolen materials — along with the dress and wig.

He was arrested with charges pending.