dish

[dish]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dish ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an open, relatively shallow container of pottery, glass, metal, wood, etc., used for various purposes, especially for holding or serving food.

any container used at table: dirty dishes.

the food served or contained in a dish: The meal consisted of several dishes.

a particular article, type, or preparation of food: Rice is an inexpensive dish.

the quantity held by a dish; dishful: a dish of applesauce.

anything like a dish in form or use.

concavity or the degree of concavity, as of a wheel.

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.

Slang. an attractive person, especially a female: His wife is quite a dish.

Slang. an item of gossip.

verb (used with object)

to put into or serve in a dish, as food: to dish food onto plates.

to fashion like a dish; make concave.

Slang. to gossip about: They talked all night, dishing their former friends.

Slang. to defeat; frustrate; cheat.

verb (used without object)

Slang. to talk together informally, especially, to gossip.

Verb Phrases

dish out, Informal.

to serve (food) from a serving dish, pot, etc.
to deal out; distribute: She dished out our pay in silver dollars.

Idioms

dish it out, Informal. to dispense abusive language, punishment, or praise, enthusiastic approval, etc.: When it comes to flattery, he can really dish it out.

Origin of dish

before 900; Middle English; Old English disc dish, plate, bowl (akin to German Tisch table) < Latin discus dish, discus

Related formsun·der·dish, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dishes

plate, container, cup, pot, bowl, platter, tray, food, fare, recipe, tomato, pottery, ceramic, pitcher, mug, china, vessel, casserole, salver, porringer

Examples from the Web for dishes

Contemporary Examples of dishes

Chefs in states with new legislation are already publicly experimenting with dishes for their menus.
Meet the Julia Child of Weed
Justin Jones
November 13, 2014
Rather, he dishes up a seemingly endless stream of examples of pettiness, irritation, hypocrisy and awkwardness.
Fear And Self-Loathing In Scandinavia: The Fiction Of Karl Ove Knausgaard
Ted Gioia
May 28, 2014
Crew quarters are still filled with dishes and other domestic and personal items.
A WWII Battle Frozen in Time
Nina Strochlic
May 14, 2014
Dishes are listed by their Finnish names with English subtitles.
Welcome to Yooperland, A Little Slice of Finland in Michigan
Jane & Michael Stern
May 11, 2014
Dishes here are prepared with locally picked mushrooms, herbs, trout, and moles.
The Road to Cinco de Mayo
Tania Lara
May 5, 2014

Historical Examples of dishes

Pop was putting away the dishes, and Jud was scrubbing out the sink.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
He lights his pipe, and many an evening he helps me with the dishes.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Then it's settled that you do the cooking and I wash the dishes?
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
A ridin' that sorrel mut, too, when she ought to be in the house washin' dishes.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Lizzie, carrying a tray of dishes, came into the hall as he opened the door.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for dishes

dish

noun

a container used for holding or serving food, esp an open shallow container of pottery, glass, etc

the food that is served or contained in a dish

a particular article or preparation of fooda local fish dish

Also called: dishful the amount contained in a dish

something resembling a dish, esp in shape

a concavity or depression

short for dish aerial, satellite dish aerial

informal an attractive person

informal something that one particularly enjoys or excels in

verb (tr)

to put into a dish

to make hollow or concave

British informal to ruin or spoilhe dished his chances of getting the job

Word Origin for dish

Old English disc, from Latin discus quoit, see disc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dishes

dish

Old English disc "plate, bowl, platter," from Latin discus "dish, platter, quoit," from Greek diskos "disk, platter" (see disk). A common West Germanic borrowing; Old High German borrowed the word as tisc "plate," but German tisch now means "table," in common with other later Romanic forms (e.g. Italian desco, French dais). Meaning "particular variety of food served" is first recorded mid-15c. Meaning "what one likes" is c.1900; that of "attractive woman" is 1920s. Meaning "concave reflector or antenna" attested from 1948.

dish

"to serve food," late 14c., from dish (n.). Meaning "to disparage, denigrate" first recorded 1940s; probably from the same notion in figurative dish it out "administer punishment" (1934). Related: Dished; dishing.

Idioms and Phrases with dishes

dish

In addition to the idioms beginning with dish

dish out
dish the dirt

also see:

do the dishes

Also see underdishwater.