DISH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dish mean? 

• DISH (noun)
  The noun DISH has 6 senses:

1. a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food

2. a particular item of prepared food

3. the quantity that a dish will hold

4. a very attractive or seductive looking woman

5. directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation

6. an activity that you like or at which you are superior

  Familiarity information: DISH used as a noun is common.

• DISH (verb)
  The verb DISH has 2 senses:

1. provide (usually but not necessarily food)

2. make concave; shape like a dish

  Familiarity information: DISH used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

we gave them a set of dishes for a wedding present

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

crockery; dishware (tableware (eating and serving dishes) collectively)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dish"):

bowl (a dish that is round and open at the top for serving foods)

butter dish (a small dish (often with a cover) for holding butter at the table)

casserole (large deep dish in which food can be cooked and served)

coquille (a dish in the form of a scallop shell)

boat; gravy boat; gravy holder; sauceboat (a dish (often boat-shaped) for serving gravy or sauce)

Petri dish (a shallow dish used to culture bacteria)

ramekin; ramequin (a small fireproof dish used for baking and serving individual portions)

serving dish (a dish used for serving food)

sugar bowl (a dish in which sugar is served)

watch glass (laboratory glassware; a shallow glass dish used as an evaporating surface or to cover a beaker)

Derivation:

dish (provide (usually but not necessarily food))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A particular item of prepared food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Context example:

she prepared a special dish for dinner

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

aliment; alimentation; nourishment; nutriment; nutrition; sustenance; victuals (a source of materials to nourish the body)

Meronyms (parts of "dish"):

topping (a flavorful addition on top of a dish)

fixings; ingredient (food that is a component of a mixture in cooking)

sauce (flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dish"):

piece de resistance (the most important dish of a meal)

adobo (a dish of marinated vegetables and meat or fish; served with rice)

entremets; side dish; side order (a dish that is served with, but is subordinate to, a main course)

special (a dish or meal given prominence in e.g. a restaurant)

casserole (food cooked and served in a casserole)

soup (liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food)

stew (food prepared by stewing especially meat or fish with vegetables)

paella (saffron-flavored dish made of rice with shellfish and chicken)

viand (a choice or delicious dish)

mousse (a light creamy dish made from fish or meat and set with gelatin)

pudding (any of various soft thick unsweetened baked dishes)

custard (sweetened mixture of milk and eggs baked or boiled or frozen)

turnover (a dish made by folding a piece of pastry over a filling)

timbale (individual serving of minced e.g. meat or fish in a rich creamy sauce baked in a small pastry mold or timbale shell)

fish finger; fish stick (a long fillet of fish breaded and fried)

buffalo wing (crisp spicy chicken wings)

barbecued wing (chicken wings cooked in barbecue sauce)

barbecue; barbeque (meat that has been barbecued or grilled in a highly seasoned sauce)

biriani; biryani (an Indian dish made with highly seasoned rice and meat or fish or vegetables)

escalope de veau Orloff (lightly sauteed veal cutlets spread with a Soubise sauce and liver paste then sprinkled with grated Parmesan and baked briefly)

saute (a dish of sauteed food)

cake; patty (small flat mass of chopped food)

veal parmesan; veal parmigiana (sauteed veal cutlet in a breadcrumb-and-cheese coating served with tomato sauce)

veal cordon bleu (thin slices of veal stuffed with cheese and ham and then sauteed)

sandwich plate (a serving consisting of a sandwich or sandwiches with garnishes)

snack food (food for light meals or for eating between meals)

salad (food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens)

curry ((East Indian cookery) a pungent dish of vegetables or meats flavored with curry powder and usually eaten with rice)

apple sauce; applesauce (puree of stewed apples usually sweetened and spiced)

boiled egg; coddled egg (egg cooked briefly in the shell in gently boiling water)

dropped egg; poached egg (egg cooked in gently boiling water)

scrambled eggs (eggs beaten and cooked to a soft firm consistency while stirring)

deviled egg; stuffed egg (halved hard-cooked egg with the yolk mashed with mayonnaise and seasonings and returned to the white)

baked egg; egg en cocotte; shirred egg (egg cooked individually in cream or butter in a small ramekin)

omelet; omelette (beaten eggs or an egg mixture cooked until just set; may be folded around e.g. ham or cheese or jelly)

souffle (light fluffy dish of egg yolks and stiffly beaten egg whites mixed with e.g. cheese or fish or fruit)

fried egg (eggs cooked by sauteing in oil or butter; sometimes turned and cooked on both sides)

coq au vin (chicken and onions and mushrooms braised in red wine and seasonings)

chicken provencale (chicken cooked in a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil)

chicken and rice (rice and chicken cooked together with or without other ingredients and variously seasoned)

moo goo gai pan (a Cantonese dish of chicken and sauteed vegetables)

bacon and eggs (eggs (fried or scrambled) served with bacon)

barbecued spareribs; spareribs (baked or roasted with a spicy sauce)

beef Bourguignonne; boeuf Bourguignonne (beef and mushrooms and onions stewed in red wine and seasonings)

beef Wellington; filet de boeuf en croute (rare-roasted beef tenderloin coated with mushroom paste in puff pastry)

bitok (a Russian dish made with patties of ground meat (mixed with onions and bread and milk) and served with a sauce of sour cream)

boiled dinner; New England boiled dinner (corned beef simmered with onions and cabbage and usually other vegetables)

Boston baked beans (dried navy beans baked slowly with molasses and salt pork)

bubble and squeak (leftover cabbage fried with cooked potatoes and sometimes meat)

pasta (a dish that contains pasta as its main ingredient)

Belgian beef stew; carbonnade flamande (beef stewed in beer seasoned with garlic and served with boiled potatoes)

chicken Marengo (braised chicken with onions and mushrooms in a wine and tomato sauce)

chicken cordon bleu (thin slices of chicken stuffed with cheese and ham and then sauteed)

Maryland chicken (chicken fried than oven-baked and served with milk gravy)

chicken paprika; chicken paprikash (chicken simmered in broth with onions and paprika then mixed with sour cream)

Tetrazzini (a pasta dish with cream sauce and mushrooms)

chicken Kiev (pounded chicken cutlets rolled around butter (that has been seasoned with herbs) and then covered with crumbs and fried)

chili; chili con carne (ground beef and chili peppers or chili powder often with tomatoes and kidney beans)

chop suey (meat or fish stir-fried with vegetables (e.g., celery, onions, peppers or bean sprouts) seasoned with ginger and garlic and soy sauce; served with rice; created in the United States and frequently served in Chinese restaurants there)

chow mein (chop suey served with fried noodles)

coquille (seafood served in a scallop shell)

coquilles Saint-Jacques (scallops in white wine sauce served in scallop shells)

croquette (minced cooked meats (or vegetables) in thick white sauce; breaded and deep-fried)

cottage pie (a dish of minced meat topped with mashed potatoes)

rissole (minced cooked meat or fish coated in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in deep fat)

dolmas; stuffed grape leaves (well-seasoned rice (with nuts or currants or minced lamb) simmered or braised in stock)

egg roll; spring roll (minced vegetables and meat wrapped in a pancake and fried)

eggs Benedict (toasted English muffin topped with ham and a poached egg (or an oyster) and hollandaise sauce)

enchilada (tortilla with meat filling baked in tomato sauce seasoned with chili)

falafel; felafel (small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds)

fish and chips (fried fish and french-fried potatoes)

fondu; fondue (hot cheese or chocolate melted to the consistency of a sauce into which bread or fruits are dipped)

fondu; fondue (cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces)

French toast (bread slice dipped in egg and milk and fried; topped with sugar or fruit or syrup)

Chinese fried rice; fried rice (boiled rice mixed with scallions and minced pork or shrimp and quickly scrambled with eggs)

frittata (Italian omelet with diced vegetables and meats; cooked until bottom is set then inverted into another pan to cook the top)

frog legs (hind legs of frogs used as food; resemble chicken and cooked as chicken)

galantine (boned poultry stuffed then cooked and covered with aspic; served cold)

fish ball; gefilte fish (well-seasoned balls of ground fish and eggs and crushed crumbs simmered in fish stock)

haggis (made of sheep's or calf's viscera minced with oatmeal and suet and onions and boiled in the animal's stomach)

ham and eggs (eggs (scrambled or fried) served with ham)

hash (chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned)

jambalaya (spicy Creole dish of rice and ham, sausage, chicken, or shellfish with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and celery)

kabob; kebab; shish kebab (cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables)

kedgeree (a dish of rice and hard-boiled eggs and cooked flaked fish)

seafood Newburg (seafood in Newburg sauce served on toast or rice)

lobster thermidor (diced lobster mixed with Mornay sauce placed back in the shell and sprinkled with grated cheese and browned)

lutefisk; lutfisk (dried cod soaked in a lye solution before boiling to give it a gelatinous consistency)

macedoine (mixed diced fruits or vegetables; hot or cold)

meatball (ground meat formed into a ball and fried or simmered in broth)

meat loaf; meatloaf (a baked loaf of ground meat)

moussaka (casserole of eggplant and ground lamb with onion and tomatoes bound with white sauce and beaten eggs)

osso buco (sliced veal knuckle or shin bone cooked with olive oil and wine and tomatoes and served with rice or vegetables)

pheasant under glass (a dish of roast pheasant served in a manner characteristic of expensive restaurants)

pilaf; pilaff; pilau; pilaw (rice cooked in well-seasoned broth with onions or celery and usually poultry or game or shellfish and sometimes tomatoes)

pizza; pizza pie (Italian open pie made of thin bread dough spread with a spiced mixture of e.g. tomato sauce and cheese)

poi (Hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment)

pork and beans (dried beans cooked with pork and tomato sauce)

porridge (soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal or legumes in water or milk until thick)

potpie (deep-dish meat and vegetable pie or a meat stew with dumplings)

rijstafel; rijstaffel; rijsttaffel (dish originating in Indonesia; a wide variety of foods and sauces are served with rice)

Italian rice; risotto (rice cooked with broth and sprinkled with grated cheese)

roulade (a dish consisting of a slice of meat that is rolled around a filling and cooked)

Salisbury steak (ground beef patty usually with a sauce)

sauerbraten (pot roast marinated several days in seasoned vinegar before cooking; usually served with potato dumplings)

sauerkraut (shredded cabbage fermented in brine)

scallopine; scallopini (sauteed cutlets (usually veal or poultry) that have been pounded thin and coated with flour)

scampi (large shrimp sauteed in oil or butter and garlic)

Scotch egg (hard-cooked egg encased in sausage meat then breaded and deep-fried)

Scotch woodcock (creamy scrambled eggs on toast spread with anchovy paste)

scrapple (scraps of meat (usually pork) boiled with cornmeal and shaped into loaves for slicing and frying)

spaghetti and meatballs (spaghetti with meatballs in a tomato sauce)

Spanish rice (spicy rice with tomatoes and onions and green peppers)

cannibal mound; steak tartare; tartar steak (ground beef mixed with raw egg and e.g. onions and capers and anchovies; eaten raw)

pepper steak (strips of steak sauteed with green peppers and onions)

pepper steak; peppered steak; steak au poivre (steak covered with crushed peppercorns pan-broiled and served with brandy-and-butter sauce)

beef Stroganoff (sauteed strips of beef and mushrooms in sour cream sauce served with noodles)

stuffed cabbage (parboiled head of cabbage scooped out and filled with a hash of chopped e.g. beef or ham and baked; served with tomato or cheese sauce)

kishke; stuffed derma ((Judaism) roasted fowl intestines with a seasoned filling of matzo meal and suet)

stuffed peppers (parboiled green peppers stuffed usually with rice and meat and baked briefly)

hot stuffed tomato; stuffed tomato (tomato cases filled with various mixtures and baked briefly)

cold stuffed tomato; stuffed tomato (tomato cases filled with various salad mixtures and served cold)

succotash (fresh corn and lima beans with butter or cream)

sukiyaki (thin beef strips (or chicken or pork) cooked briefly at the table with onions and greens and soy sauce)

sashimi (very thinly sliced raw fish)

sushi (rice (with raw fish) wrapped in seaweed)

Swiss steak (steak braised in tomato and onion mixture)

tamal; tamale (dough stuffed with a meat mixture and sometimes wrapped in corn husks and steamed)

tamale pie (a meat mixture covered with cornbread topping that resembles a Mexican dish)

tempura (vegetables and seafood dipped in batter and deep-fried)

teriyaki (beef or chicken or seafood marinated in spicy soy sauce and grilled or broiled)

terrine (a pate or fancy meatloaf baked in an earthenware casserole)

rarebit; Welsh rabbit; Welsh rarebit (cheese melted with ale or beer served over toast)

schnitzel; Wiener schnitzel (deep-fried breaded veal cutlets)

taco (a tortilla rolled cupped around a filling)

burrito (a flour tortilla folded around a filling)

tostada (a flat tortilla with various fillings piled on it)

frijoles refritos; refried beans (dried beans cooked and mashed and then fried in lard with various seasonings)

couscous (a spicy dish that originated in northern Africa; consists of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew)

ramekin; ramequin (a cheese dish made with egg and bread crumbs that is baked and served in individual fireproof dishes)

mold; mould (a dish or dessert that is formed in or on a mold)

Holonyms ("dish" is a part of...):

meal; repast (the food served and eaten at one time)

Derivation:

dish (provide (usually but not necessarily food))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The quantity that a dish will hold

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

dish; dishful

Context example:

they served me a dish of rice

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)

Derivation:

dish (provide (usually but not necessarily food))

Sense 4

Meaning:

A very attractive or seductive looking woman

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

beauty; dish; knockout; looker; lulu; mantrap; peach; ravisher; smasher; stunner; sweetheart

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

adult female; woman (an adult female person (as opposed to a man))

Derivation:

dishy ((informal British) sexually attractive)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

dish; dish aerial; dish antenna; saucer

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

directional antenna (an antenna that transmits or receives signals only in a narrow angle)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dish"):

scanner (a radar dish that rotates or oscillates in order to scan a broad area)

Holonyms ("dish" is a part of...):

microwave radar; radar; radio detection and ranging; radiolocation (measuring instrument in which the echo of a pulse of microwave radiation is used to detect and locate distant objects)

radio reflector; radio telescope (astronomical telescope that picks up electromagnetic radiations in the radio-frequency range from extraterrestrial sources)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An activity that you like or at which you are superior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bag; cup of tea; dish

Context example:

marriage was scarcely his dish

Hypernyms ("dish" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

• DISH (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provide (usually but not necessarily food)

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

dish; dish out; dish up; serve; serve up

Context example:

The entertainers served up a lively show

Hypernyms (to "dish" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Verb group:

help; serve (help to some food; help with food or drink)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dish"):

plank (cook and serve on a plank)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs dish the vegetables

Derivation:

dish (a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food)

dish (a particular item of prepared food)

dish (the quantity that a dish will hold)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make concave; shape like a dish

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "dish" is one way to...):

form; shape (give shape or form to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

So she shook two dishes of peas into the ashes.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"I warned you not to get excited." She laughed mockingly, and went about washing the dishes.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“Even to the peeling of potatoes and the washing of dishes,” I answered, “to say nothing to wringing their necks out of very fellowship.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Were it mixed with any ordinary dish the eater would undoubtedly detect it, and would probably eat no more.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was smooth, like the surface of a dish, and higher than their heads.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

We had two courses, of three dishes each.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

To measure the peptides' toxicity, the researchers exposed them to human embryonic kidney cells grown in a lab dish.

(Venom of Wasp, Bee Repurposed as Antibiotic Drug, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

To study further how salt affects blood flow in the brain, blood vessels were taken from the brains of mice fed a high-salt diet and grown in a dish.

(Hold the salt: gut reaction may impair the brains of mice, National Institutes of Health)

“I will have a hotly seasoned dish for some folk I know of,” answered Don Pedro with a cold smile.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The table was piled with half-eaten dishes and dirty plates, the débris of last night’s dinner.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)