chafing dish

American  

[chey-fing] / ˈtʃeɪ fɪŋ /

noun

1. an apparatus consisting of a metal dish with a lamp or heating appliance beneath it, for cooking food or keeping it hot at the table.

2. a vessel that holds charcoal or the like, for heating anything set over it.

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chafing dish British  

/ ˈtʃeɪfɪŋ /

noun

1. a vessel with a heating apparatus beneath it, for cooking or keeping food warm at the table

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Etymology

Origin of chafing dish

1400–50; late Middle English chafing warming ( see chafe, -ing ¹)

Example Sentences

Tom's mother, Mag, made these omelets in a chafing dish right on the breakfast table.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2023

We weren't part of the outing, so I couldn't do something I desperately wanted to do: grab a handful of soft-shell crabs from a big chafing dish on the buffet table.

From Golf Digest • May 29, 2016

And cubes of paneer — Indian curd-style cheese, served à la carte from a chafing dish — were as insipid as tofu.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2015

Place hot foods in a 200-degree oven or in a chafing dish, slow cooker or warming tray capable of holding foods at 140 degrees or warmer.

From Washington Post

On a sideboard nearby there was a little chafing dish and a basket of poppy heads.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman