# dish

Pronunciation: say "DISH" /dɪʃ/

## Noun

1. A particular type of prepared food, made according to a recipe and served at a meal.
   - Simple: A kind of food that is made and served as part of a meal.
   - _Each region of Italy has its own signature dish._
   - _The chef prepared several dishes for the tasting menu._
2. A flat or shallow vessel for holding or serving food, usually with a lowered area in the center.
   - Simple: A flat plate or shallow bowl used to hold or serve food.
   - _He carried the steaming dish to the table._
   - _The cupboard was full of mismatched dishes._
3. The amount of food contained in a plate or bowl.
   - Simple: The food that fills a plate or bowl.
   - _The hungry travelers emptied every dish on the table._
   - _He polished off two heaping dishes of stew._
4. The plates, utensils, and other tableware used during a meal and waiting to be washed.
   - Simple: Plates, cups, and forks that need to be washed after a meal.
   - _Every night after supper the dishes piled up in the sink._
   - _She loaded the dish rack with the evening's dirty dishes._
7. Juicy talk or rumors about someone's personal affairs. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Talk and rumors about other people's private lives.
   - _Everyone wanted the dish on the surprise engagement._
   - _He came back from lunch with all the dish._
8. A bowl-shaped antenna, curved like a plate, used to transmit or receive radio or satellite signals.
   - Simple: A round, bowl-shaped antenna used to send or receive signals.
   - _Technicians aligned the dish toward the satellite._
   - _Large dishes at the observatory track distant galaxies._
9. A strikingly attractive, sexually appealing person. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A very attractive, good-looking person.
   - _Back then, the leading man was considered a real dish._
   - _Her new boyfriend is an absolute dish._
10. In baseball, home plate: the marker a batter stands beside and a runner must touch to score. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In baseball, the flat marker at the spot where a batter stands to hit.
   - _The catcher blocked the dish to keep the tying run from scoring._
   - _A clean slide into the dish won the game in the ninth._
12. A shallow hollow or depression in the ground, such as a low spot in a field.
   - Simple: A low, hollow spot in the ground, like a small dip in a field.
   - _A shallow dish in the meadow stayed muddy long after the rains passed._
   - _Hikers rested in a sheltered dish below the ridge._

## Verb

5. To place food into a dish or onto a plate in order to serve it.
   - Simple: To put food onto a plate or into a bowl in order to serve it.
   - _Waiters dish the main course once everyone is seated._
   - _She dished the casserole onto each plate carefully._
6. To gossip, passing on details about someone else's personal life. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To share gossip about other people's private lives.
   - _Old friends always dish about each other's love lives._
   - _She dished every detail of the breakup over coffee._
11. To insult someone or something, or speak badly of them. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To say rude or unkind things about someone or something.
   - _Coworkers will dish the boss the moment he leaves the room._
   - _Two of the judges openly dished his song choice, calling it lazy and dated._
13. To make something concave by pressing or shaping its middle inward, like a bowl.
   - Simple: To press the middle of something inward so it curves like a bowl.
   - _Heat slowly dished the copper plate until its center sank._
   - _Smiths dish the steel by hammering it over a curved form._

## Noun

14. The condition of being concave, or the amount of inward curve a surface has, like a bowl. *(dated)*
   - Simple: How much something curves inward in the middle, like a bowl.
   - _The builder measured the dish of the wheel to make sure it ran true._
   - _A slight dish in the shield helped deflect blows._
16. In mining, a trough used to measure quantities of ore. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: In old mining, a long open container used to measure ore.
   - _The overseer measured every dish of ore against the official standard._
   - _Loads were counted by the dish before the wagons were filled._
17. In mining, the portion of a mine's output paid to the landowner or proprietor. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: In old mining, the share of ore paid to the person who owns the land.
   - _Each mine paid its dish to the proprietor before keeping any profit._
   - _The lord's dish came out of the ore before the miners took their portion._

## Verb

15. To frustrate, beat, or outwit someone; to defeat their plans. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To beat or outsmart someone so their plans fail.
   - _A late goal dished the home side's hopes of promotion._
   - _A single leak can dish even the best-laid scheme._

## Origin

The word comes from Middle English 'dissh' and Old English 'disc' (plate, bowl, dish), which goes back through Proto-West Germanic to Latin 'discus'. It is a doublet of 'dais', 'desk', 'disc', 'discus', and 'disk', and is related to German 'Tisch' (table) and Dutch 'dis' (table).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dish (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).