side dish

American  

noun

1. a serving of a portion of food in addition to the principal food, usually on a separate dish.

2. the small additional dish used for such food.

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side dish British  

noun

1. a portion of food served in addition to the main dish

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Etymology

Origin of side dish

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

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

Indeed, as in other Lawrence projects — which typically feature divorced or separated characters — romance is a sort of side dish, less the issue than whether people are managing to treat one another well.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

“I’ll typically prepare them as a side dish, maybe alongside roasted chicken,” Matijevich says.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 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

But the rest of the meal was authentic, including the excess of chilies combined with tomato and garlic, and the side dish of traditional red rice.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson