dish

noun

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\ ˈdish

plural dishes

Definition of dish

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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.

2a : food prepared in a particular way

b : something one particularly enjoys : cup of tea

3a(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

4a : something that is favored entertainment that is just his dish

b : an attractive or sexy person

5 : gossip sense 2a the latest dish

dish

verb

dished; dishing; dishes

Definition of dish (Entry 2 of 2)

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 More Example Sentences Phrases Containing dish Learn More About dish

Synonyms for dish

Synonyms: Noun

vessel

Synonyms: Verb

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. for someone who claims to mind her own business, she sure knows how to dish See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Within each appetizing dish, Conflict Kitchen served the ingredients of peaceful co-existence. — Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 27 June 2022 Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and Twitter users reported symptoms including nausea, vomiting and liver damage after eating the dish. — Kate Gibson, CBS News, 26 June 2022 Copycat restaurants popped up, cutting into Mr. Taher’s profits, even as traditionalists accused him of debasing the national dish and eroding the cultural foundations of the nation itself. — New York Times, 26 June 2022 The recall of the product comes about after consumers reported sickness — including nausea, vomiting and liver damage — on social media sites such as Reddit, Twitter and Instagram as a result of eating the dish, per NPR. — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 Sending a note or gifting a customer’s favorite dish requires thought and care, but such moves are also good for business. — Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 23 June 2022 Daily Harvest is offering a $10 credit to customers who purchased the dish. — Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY, 22 June 2022 The dish is loaded with flavor from a tomato sofrito, a concentrated base that makes the briny shrimp and earthy beans stand out. — BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2022 My host laid out a decadent spread filled with signature English dishes including Coronation Chicken—the dish created to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne—Cornish pasties, scotch eggs, and a gorgeous set of cheeses. — Isiah Magsino, Vogue, 20 June 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Joc Pederson knows that San Francisco Giants fans can dish it out to opposing left fielders. — Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022 The brand introduced the French Lentil and Leek Crumbles dish to its line in April 2022 as a solo meal or as an addition to other dishes or products. — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 There's also political journalist Katrine Fønsmark, played by Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, who will stop at nothing to dish the dirt of the political going-ons. — Ali Pantony, Glamour, 12 June 2022 Fans will also have the opportunity to dish on Gauff’s on-court style and vote on her outfit for an upcoming tournament this summer. — Andy Frye, Forbes, 8 June 2022 On Friday night in the cage at Humphreys by the Bay, the Mixed Martial Arts fighter will be looking to dish some out. — Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2022 The Chicks stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (June 6) to dish about their upcoming tour and bonding over divorce. — Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 6 June 2022 From there, the action cuts back to the party, where Scott was still attempting to get Kim to dish on the new dude in her life. — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 12 May 2022 The Meta Meme Moment Kim and Khloe go for a hike to dish on their love lives and discuss what the future holds. — Vogue, 5 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for dish

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 Wörternbuch); see desk.