side dish
Americannoun
-
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.
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
For weeks, salacious talk swirled in campaign circles, ricocheted through email chains and was served up, like a buzzy side dish, over gossipy lunches from Sacramento to San Diego.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Enjoy these tomatoes as an appetizer, a side dish, or a midday snack.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 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
“Need I remind you, I don’t know deep-cut Ashkenazi stuff; it’s not my thing. Like, I barely understand kugel. Is it a dessert or a side dish? Is it noodles or is it cheesecake?”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
