dish

1 of 2

noun

ˈdish 

plural dishes

1

a

: a more or less concave vessel from which food is served

b

: the contents of a dish

a dish of strawberries

c

dishes plural : all the things (such as plates, utensils, glasses, and pots) that are used to prepare, serve, or eat a meal

dishes piled in the sink

We washed the dinner dishes.

2

a

: food prepared in a particular way

b

: something one particularly enjoys : cup of tea

3

a(1)

: any of various shallow concave vessels

broadly : anything shallowly concave

(2)

: a directional receiver having a concave usually parabolic reflector

especially : one used as a microwave or radar antenna

b

: the state of being concave or the degree of concavity

4

a

: something that is favored

entertainment that is just his dish

b

: an attractive or sexy person

5

: gossip sense 2a

the latest dish

dish

2 of 2

verb

dished; dishing; dishes

transitive verb

1

: to put (something, such as food for serving) into a dish

—often used with up

2

: present

—usually used with up

3

: to make concave like a dish

4

: to disclose or discuss especially publicly

dish the dirt

5

: to pass (a basketball) to a teammate

—often used with off

intransitive verb

1

: gossip

also : to disclose private or personal information

2

: to pass a basketball to a teammate

—often used with off

Synonyms

Noun

• bowl
• plate

Verb

• gossip
• talk

Examples of dish in a Sentence

Noun

a small dish of ice cream

Each person made a dish for the potluck supper.

The restaurant serves some of my favorite dishes.

We piled all the dishes in the sink after dinner.

Will you wash the breakfast dishes, please?

a sink full of dirty dishes

Verb

The two of them are always dishing about their coworkers.

a DJ who dishes the celebrity gossip as part of the morning programming

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Expect unfussy but inspired dishes, a strong cocktail game, and occasional DJ nights. —Hannah Howard, Travel + Leisure, 5 July 2025

Each guest is served a little dish of spiced lotus nuts as a drinking snack, while the menu features chura vada pav, pani puri, and a Goan chicken curry omelette. —Jordan Michelman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 July 2025

Verb

Some, the retribution seekers, were eager to dish; those forced to appear via subpoena sat deadpan. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 July 2025

On an episode of Live with Kelly & Mark, Allison dished about how much her parents love Arlo. —Haley Van Horn, People.com, 24 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English dyssh, disch, going back to Old English disc, borrowed from Latin discus "discus, kind of plate, gong" borrowed from Greek dískos "discus," in Late Greek also "dish, round mirror, the sun's disk, gong" — more at discus

Note: In later imperial Latin (Apuleius's Metamorphoses, Ulpian), the word discus is found with the meaning "dish, platter," a fairly natural extension given the shape of a discus. This sense is continued in Late Latin, as in the Vulgate, where the head of John the Baptist is brought to Herodias's daughter "in disco." It is found as a borrowing in Celtic languages (Old Irish tesc "dish"; Old Welsh discl, Welsh dysgl "dish, platter," from a diminutive *disculus; Old Breton discou "dishes") and Germanic—in addition to Old English, Old High German tisc. In Romance and the continental Germanic languages, however, the sense "dish" was largely replaced by a new sense "table," perhaps because the small, round tables in use for serving approximated the function of dishes. In Medieval Latin this meaning of discus can be found from the late eighth century (Capitulare de villis). The etymon is well attested in Gallo-Romance and in northern and central Italy: Italian desco "dining table" (13th-century Tuscan, also in medieval Lombard), Old Occitan des, desc "table," Old French deis "table of honor set up on a platform" (see dais). In Germanic, compare Old Saxon disk "table," Middle Dutch disc, desc "dining table," Old High German tisc (the sense "table" effectively ousting "dish" by Middle High German). A final permutation of the Medieval Latin word was the sense "writing table, desk," attested in British sources as descus, desca (from the late 13th century—see s.v. discus in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources) and on the continent as discus (from the 12th or 13th century—see Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch); see desk.

Verb

Middle English disshen, verbal derivative of dyssh dish entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing dish

• chafing dish
• deep-dish
• dish detergent
• dish it out
• dish out
• dish rack
• dish towel
• dish up
• main dish
• petri dish
• satellite dish
• side dish

Rhymes for dish

• lish
• swish
• wish
• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish

Kids Definition

dish

1 of 2 noun

ˈdish 

1

a

: a shallow usually circular vessel for serving food

b

: the food served in a dish

a dish of strawberries

2

: food prepared in a particular way

3

a

: something that is shaped like a dish

b

: a directional receiver having a concave reflector

especially : one used as a microwave or radar antenna

dish

2 of 2 verb

1

: to put into a dish or dishes

dish up some soup

2

: to shape something like a dish