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.
Studies show that chatbots still dish out faulty medical advice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
History has also taught us that the gods like to dish out nasty surprises every few years: dot-com bubbles, subprime mortgage crises, pandemics, etc.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 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
Schools will be able to dish out $20 million to athletes.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2024
In time, I could locate the dish out on the surface, but it would take weeks for me to rig up any repairs, and that would be too late.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
