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.
Phil Rizzuto would meet the moment by spending 10 minutes reviewing every single appetizer and side dish on the menu at the hotel steakhouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Enjoy these tomatoes as an appetizer, a side dish, or a midday snack.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
There’s mast-o-khiar, a Persian side dish and dip that’s a mix of yogurt, cucumber, dried mint and walnuts.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 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
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
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.
