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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.


chafing dish British  
/ ˈtʃeɪfɪŋ /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of chafing dish

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

Another time he gave her a chafing dish.

From New York Times Feb. 22, 2010

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

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