dish
Americannoun
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an open, relatively shallow container of pottery, glass, metal, wood, etc., used for various purposes, especially for holding or serving food.
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any container used at table.
dirty dishes.
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the food served or contained in a dish.
The meal consisted of several dishes.
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a particular article, type, or preparation of food.
Rice is an inexpensive dish.
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the quantity held by a dish; dishful.
a dish of applesauce.
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anything like a dish in form or use.
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concavity or the degree of concavity, as of a wheel.
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Also called dish antenna. a concave, dish-shaped reflector serving to focus electromagnetic energy as part of a transmitter or receiver of radio, television, or microwave signals.
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Slang. an attractive person, especially a female.
His wife is quite a dish.
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Slang. an item of gossip.
verb (used with object)
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to put into or serve in a dish, as food.
to dish food onto plates.
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to fashion like a dish; make concave.
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Slang. to gossip about.
They talked all night, dishing their former friends.
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Slang. to defeat; frustrate; cheat.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a container used for holding or serving food, esp an open shallow container of pottery, glass, etc
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the food that is served or contained in a dish
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a particular article or preparation of food
a local fish dish
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Also called: dishful. the amount contained in a dish
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something resembling a dish, esp in shape
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a concavity or depression
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short for dish aerial satellite dish aerial
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informal an attractive person
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informal something that one particularly enjoys or excels in
verb
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to put into a dish
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to make hollow or concave
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informal to ruin or spoil
he dished his chances of getting the job
Other Word Forms
- dishlike adjective
- underdish noun
Etymology
Origin of dish
before 900; Middle English; Old English disc dish, plate, bowl (akin to German Tisch table) < Latin discus dish, discus
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.
She gestures at a dish of purple something.
From Literature
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I ask him, clearing the coffee table of the pile of dirty dishes that always seem to accumulate on it.
From Literature
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Just after midnight, when Clare had finally fallen asleep, he was jolted awake by a clatter of dishes in his kitchen.
From Literature
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"It lays out not just the types of dishes to be prepared, but also their weight and quality. These standards are still followed strictly," says historian Taqui.
From BBC
“The Forsytes” is a clunky visual feast, but it’s also a new hot dish in an expanding buffet of eat-the-rich takes that materializes what one imagines a serialized adaptation of Gentlemen’s Quarterly would look like.
From Salon
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.