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
-
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
-
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:
Modantus is his name, his head a skull, with brassy adornments ascending like a satellite dish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
The contrast is what makes this feel like a dish rather than a vegetable dutifully placed beside dinner.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
I enjoyed classic Scottish food like full Scottish breakfasts with haggis and blood pudding; chicken rumbledethumps, a dish with mashed potatoes, cabbage and cheese; Tennents lager and single-malt Scotch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
The bear had no water dish and relied on a hose for drinking water.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Jackson hesitated, with one hand already hoisting the shepherd’s pie dish.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Order traditional Moroccan dishes to share so you can try a little of everything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
It’s one of the city’s most traditional dishes: meat slowly cooked for hours in a clay urn with preserved lemon, garlic and spices, traditionally using the heat from a hammam furnace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Those choosing the new dishes were less likely to finish their meals than diners eating from the conventional menu.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Detectives then found a pattern of invoices, often for food items inconsistent with school meals, but matching dishes on the menu of his private catering business Flava 2 You, said Borges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
I choke down the whole glass of milk, drop the dishes into the sink, and lock myself in my room.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
From building on the hiding dished out to Hearts to another loss and getting shunted back to bitterness and rancour.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
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
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
The hostess had definitely dished behind the scenes, and this new girl didn’t look disappointed.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
No other known donor comes close to dishing out more funding.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Soon after, the couple began dishing on the royal family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 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
A week later we passed the broth shack, and there was a sixty-year-old woman working there, hard as nails, dishing out consommé.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
