dish

 
Pronunciation: /dɪʃ/

noun

  • 1a shallow, flat-bottomed container for cooking or serving food: an ovenproof dish
  • the food contained or served in a dish: a dish of sauté potatoes
  • a particular variety or preparation of food served as part of a meal: fresh fish dishes
  • (the dishes) all the items that have been used in the preparation, serving, and eating of a meal: I left the children to do the dishes
  • 2 [usually with modifier] a shallow, concave receptacle, especially one intended to hold a particular substance: a soap dish
  • (also dish aerial) a bowl-shaped radio aerial: other channels are available with a larger dishSee also satellite dish.
  • 3 informal a sexually attractive person: I gather he’s quite a dish
  • (one's dish) dated a thing that one enjoys or does well: as a public relations man this was my dish and the campaign was right up my street
  • 4 (the dish) informal information which is not generally known or available: if he has the real dish I wish he’d tell us
  • 5 [mass noun] concavity of a spoked wheel resulting from a difference in spoke tension on each side and consequent sideways displacement of the rim in relation to the hub.

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (dish something out/up) put food on to a plate or plates before a meal: Steve was dishing up vegetables
  • (dish something out) dispense something in a casual or indiscriminate way: the banks dished out loans to all and sundry
  • (dish something up) offer or present something, especially something regarded as substandard: is your ISP short-changing you by dishing up outdated and perhaps incorrect information?
  • (dish it out) informal subject others to criticism or punishment: you can dish it out but you can’t take it
  • [no object] North American informal gossip or share intimate information: groups gather to dish about romances
  • 2 informal, chiefly British utterly destroy or defeat: the election interview dished Labour’s chances
  • 3give concavity to (a wheel) by tensioning the spokes: (as noun dishing) this tool accurately checks for proper dishing of a wheel

Phrases

dish the dirt

informal reveal or spread scandal or gossip: he was happy to dish the dirt on his rival

Derivatives

dishful

noun (plural dishfuls)

Origin:

Old English disc 'plate, bowl' (related to Dutch dis, German Tisch 'table'), based on Latin discus (see discus)