side dish
Americannoun
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side dishes
plural
-
a serving of a portion of food in addition to the principal food, usually on a separate dish.
-
the small additional dish used for such food.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of side dish
First recorded in 1715–25
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.
If this is going to be dinner rather than a side dish, I like something savory and substantial tucked throughout.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Play is the primary side dish at “7 Paintings,” a tech-infused dinner theater that aims to be a crash course in fine art.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Or, include a small side dish, like macaroni and cheese, to make your board heartier.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Another side dish which saw a slight dip in price was stuffing mix - dropping 1.32% to 50p for 170g.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
She pulled out the heart, the liver, and what looked like a stomach pouch, and cleaned and fried them as a side dish.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
