noun
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an electrically operated machine for washing, rinsing, and drying dishes, cutlery, etc
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a person who washes dishes, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dishwasher
Explanation
If you work as a dishwasher, your job involves cleaning the glasses, plates, bowls, and silverware at a restaurant or cafe. You're also a dishwasher if you volunteer to wash the dishes after dinner at home. Some dishwashers scrub pots, pans, and dishes by hand, while others simply load up the other kind of dishwasher — a machine that automatically cleans dishes. While a human dishwasher has to scrub to get the dishes clean, a mechanical dishwasher sprays extremely hot water to do the same job. This new and improved type of dishwasher was invented in the late 19th century.
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:
I like to save on time and kitchen clean-up because I don’t have a dishwasher, so store-bought is my preferred option.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
But training them to safely perform household tasks like ironing or stacking the dishwasher is proving difficult and costly.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
He got a job as a dishwasher at an Indian restaurant in Beverly Hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
It had one bathroom, shaggy carpet, a dilapidated deck and no dishwasher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
After clearing the table and loading the dishwasher, the kids headed upstairs as the brownstone creaked mournfully in the silence.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Ovens, hobs, tumble dryers, washing machines and dishwashers can all make indoor spaces warmer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Running washing machines and dishwashers with full loads.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
"Raise your thermostat as high as is comfortably safe," the company urged, while calling on residents to delay using laundry, dishwashers and electric vehicle chargers until after 8:00 pm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Workers represented by the union include cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders and concessions workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
The ship could always use dishwashers or laundresses, she had heard, and so she would work her way to San Francisco where Amy, her pen pal, lived.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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.
