dish out
Britishverb
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(tr, adverb) to distribute
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to inflict punishment
he can't take it, but he can sure dish it out
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Deal out, dispense, as in He dishes out advice to one and all . This expression alludes to serving food from a dish. ] Colloquial ; first half of 1600s]
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dish it out . Dispense abuse or punishment, as in He can dish it out with the best of them, but he can't take it . [ Slang ; c. 1930]
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.
Traffic to fast-food chains began to fall in 2024, prompting McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King and other companies to dish out more deals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
But they have now added strong away performances to their armoury, with a solid defensive display on Tuesday allowing Jens Petter Hauge and Hakon Evjen to dish out two sucker punches.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
He could dish out compliments, but he was often too insecure to take them.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2025
Schools will be able to dish out $20 million to athletes.
From Salon • Dec. 30, 2024
But I’d take whatever those people needed to dish out, because I was going to do the right thing.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
