dish

1 of 2

noun

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

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
These blue cheeses are used in different ways to enhance various dishes. Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2024 What sets it apart, beyond a focus on elevating authentic Mexican dishes using British ingredients, is its promotion of Mezcal and its presence at the forefront of the experience. Paul Caputo, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Verb
Minnesota’s point guard Courtney Williams, who led the team’s celebratory, post-victory dance, was a livewire throughout the game, scoring 15 points and dishing seven assists. David Close, CNN, 18 Oct. 2024 Holland's costars — including Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Pom Klementieff — have also frequently intervened during interviews and panels to make sure Holland doesn't accidentally dish on anything too spicy. EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dish 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of dish was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near dish

Cite this Entry

“Dish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dish. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dish

1 of 2 noun
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

More from Merriam-Webster on dish

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