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)
-
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
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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:
In the sweeping shadow of a satellite dish, staff at the Chilbolton Observatory in southern England track a growing number of objects in Earth's orbit, providing data that underpins Britain's space monitoring efforts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
You’d assume that the interface—which some people describe as what you’d get if eBay and TikTok had a child—would attract younger users, who grew up in this parasocial, digital petri dish of swiping and typing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The side dish is a salad of apples, white beans and greens with a simple vinaigrette.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
It turns out it’s not what you mix into the dish that makes it delicious—it’s how you cook the potatoes.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
“The brutes I was with called him Ferrandini. Do you think he knows how to make that Italian dish we ate in Mississippi?”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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
They introduce viewers to the people, histories and communities behind a dish, proving what the best food journalists have always known: people don’t just fall in love with dishes, they fall in love with stories.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Ground yourself with some compassion: Slate senior editor Tony Ho Tran takes a spin as Prudie and dishes out some exceptionally heartfelt advice.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
In the living room, a blue resin coffee table shaped like a candy wrapper adds to the playful feel, along with vintage candy dishes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
In the kitchen: a sink filled with dishes, because Mr. Gibson insisted that Gibby should do all the housework and she resisted until she could no longer tolerate the mess.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
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
Elwes, who stars in the new Peacock crime series “M.I.A.,” also dished about the nickname Marlon Brando gave him and what he lost in the L.A. wildfires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
And for 88 years, Damburger — now operating out of a squat brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Redding — has dished out what is, according to its official motto, “the best hamburger by a dam site.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
The keyed-up boy dished up bowls of bubbling navy beans and fat-back.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Loyal customers have come back as the company refocused on dishing up its most die-hard fans’ favorite foods, deals and nostalgia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 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
Smart returned for the final two games, dishing out 17 assists while the Lakers tried to keep their offense afloat without Doncic and Reaves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 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
Then he started dishing dirt about some of the other teammates.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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.
