chafing dish

American  

[chey-fing] / ˈtʃeɪ fɪŋ /

noun

1. an apparatus consisting of a metal dish with a lamp or heating appliance beneath it, for cooking food or keeping it hot at the table.

2. a vessel that holds charcoal or the like, for heating anything set over it.

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chafing dish British  

/ ˈtʃeɪfɪŋ /

noun

1. a vessel with a heating apparatus beneath it, for cooking or keeping food warm at the table

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Etymology

Origin of chafing dish

1400–50; late Middle English chafing warming ( see chafe, -ing ¹)

Example Sentences

Tom's mother, Mag, made these omelets in a chafing dish right on the breakfast table.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2023

We weren't part of the outing, so I couldn't do something I desperately wanted to do: grab a handful of soft-shell crabs from a big chafing dish on the buffet table.

From Golf Digest • May 29, 2016

And cubes of paneer — Indian curd-style cheese, served à la carte from a chafing dish — were as insipid as tofu.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2015

Place hot foods in a 200-degree oven or in a chafing dish, slow cooker or warming tray capable of holding foods at 140 degrees or warmer.

From Washington Post

Breakfast had been brought in and placed on the table in an elegant silver chafing dish.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood