dish
Americannoun
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dishes
plural
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an open, relatively shallow container of pottery, glass, metal, wood, etc., used for various purposes, especially for holding or serving food.
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any container used at table.
dirty dishes.
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the food served or contained in a dish.
The meal consisted of several dishes.
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a particular article, type, or preparation of food.
Rice is an inexpensive dish.
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the quantity held by a dish; dishful.
a dish of applesauce.
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anything like a dish in form or use.
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concavity or the degree of concavity, as of a wheel.
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Also called dish antenna. a concave, dish-shaped reflector serving to focus electromagnetic energy as part of a transmitter or receiver of radio, television, or microwave signals.
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Slang. an attractive person, especially a female.
His wife is quite a dish.
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Slang. an item of gossip.
verb (used with object)
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dishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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dished,
past participle, past
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dishing
present participle
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to put into or serve in a dish, as food.
to dish food onto plates.
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to fashion like a dish; make concave.
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Slang. to gossip about.
They talked all night, dishing their former friends.
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Slang. to defeat; frustrate; cheat.
verb (used without object)
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dishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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dished,
past participle, past
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dishing
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a container used for holding or serving food, esp an open shallow container of pottery, glass, etc
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the food that is served or contained in a dish
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a particular article or preparation of food
a local fish dish
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Also called: dishful. the amount contained in a dish
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something resembling a dish, esp in shape
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a concavity or depression
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short for dish aerial satellite dish aerial
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informal an attractive person
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informal something that one particularly enjoys or excels in
verb
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to put into a dish
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to make hollow or concave
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informal to ruin or spoil
he dished his chances of getting the job
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dishsimple
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dishessimple
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have dishedperfect
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has dishedperfect
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am dishingprogressive
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are dishingprogressive
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is dishingprogressive
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have been dishingperfect progressive
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has been dishingperfect progressive
Past
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dishedsimple
-
had dishedperfect
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was dishingprogressive
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were dishingprogressive
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had been dishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dish
before 900; Middle English; Old English disc dish, plate, bowl (akin to German Tisch table) < Latin discus dish, discus
Explanation
A dish is something on which you serve, cook, or eat food. You need an extra large dish to make a casserole big enough to feed your entire extended family. You can use the noun dish to talk about the enamel, ceramic, metal, or plastic vessel your food is in, and you can also use it for the food itself. You might say, "This macaroni and cheese was my great aunt Mathilda's favorite dish." When you serve it, you can say that you "dish it out" — although figuratively, this also means "administer punishment."
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:
Heat the oven: Heat to 375°F. Butter or oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Nate Oester and Anna Li, from Port Townsend, Wash., were browsing a stand selling dish towels and tableware in London’s Borough Market at lunchtime on a recent afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The giant space rocks are generally monitored by optical sensors, as they are too far away for Chilbolton's radar dish to detect.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Here’s how to make your fresh herbs shine in any dish.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
And then the satellite dish on the Troppo Tourists ship was too far away, and Alex’s phone went dead.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
Some customers were still coming by, hoping to unearth a rare gem amid the clothes, records, dishes and other items.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Visit the restaurant inside Vermelho Hotel, Christian Louboutin’s 13-room jewel-box of an inn in Melides, and order one of the region’s signature rice dishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Light shaking is generally noticeable indoors and strong enough to rattle dishes and windows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The phage were placed on petri dishes growing a layer of bacteria on them and the scientists waited for signs their new viruses were enjoying the feast.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Sounds good to me,” Callaway said, turning to walk across the atrium toward where the breakfast dishes were being cleared.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
For centuries, they have dished up wine from the surrounding vineyards to wash down typically hearty central European fare.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The ICO recently dished out a £14m fine to online platform Reddit, finding it had unlawfully used children's personal information and failed to adequately check the age of its users.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
In his lawsuit, Cipriani alleged that, during months of on-again, off-again conversations, Shell dished sensitive information to him, including that Paramount was poised to strike a $7.7-billion deal to bring UFC fights to Paramount+.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
She also dished out some tips for renovating your own space, telling fans, “You don’t have to do it all in one day. Start with the key pieces and build outward.”
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
I caught up with him halfway down the lane and he dished out to Brothers in the corner.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
They had faced soccer’s ultimate test of nerve four times since 1982, and on each occasion, they were the ones coolly dishing out the heartbreak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Hari certainly understands this; she regularly posts content on how to avoid eating food grown with Roundup, dishing out advice like “buy local & ask about pesticides” and “grow your own food.”
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
Whether its dishing out billions to build out the infrastructure to power AI, or investing in new AI products to try to improve productivity, companies are investing massive amounts of money on AI.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Chipotle came under fire in 2024 for dishing out inconsistent portion sizes, but has since recommitted to giving every customer a “generous” helping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
Everyone recited the Five Principles of Good Citizenship and the Four Attitudes Leading to Right-Mindfulness, and then a sullen, acne-scarred boy began dishing up.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
