dishes

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   The plates, bowls, cups and other containers used for eating, especially when they need washing.

   Grammar: Always plural in this sense; it takes a plural verb: the dishes are clean.

   Patterns

   • do the dishes
   • wash the dishes
   • the dishes are dirty

   I'll cook tonight if you do the dishes afterward.

   There were still dirty dishes piled up in the sink when we got home.

   She rinsed the dishes and stacked them in the drying rack.

2. 2nounplural

   Different kinds of prepared food, especially when they are cooked in a particular style or come from a particular place.

   Grammar: Plural of "dish"; often used after an adjective such as "spicy" or "local".

   Patterns

   • local dishes
   • spicy dishes
   • a menu of traditional dishes

   The restaurant serves traditional dishes from the north of the country.

   He likes spicy dishes, so he ordered the curry.

   We tried several local dishes while we were traveling.

3. 3nounplural

   Shallow open containers, usually round, used for serving or holding food.

   Grammar: Plural of "dish"; a single one is "a dish".

   Patterns

   • a serving dish
   • an oven dish
   • dishes and bowls

   She put the vegetables in a large serving dish.

   The shelves were full of bowls, plates and baking dishes.

   He arranged the dishes on the table before the guests arrived.

Word forms

Common combinations

do the dishes

Nobody wants to do the dishes after a big dinner.

wash the dishes

I washed the dishes while my brother dried them.

dirty dishes

Please don't leave dirty dishes in your room.

a pile of dishes

There was a pile of dishes next to the sink.

local dishes

The market sells ingredients for many local dishes.

a side dish

We ordered rice as a side dish.

Synonyms and how they differ

plates

Use "plates" for the flat round items you eat from; "dishes" is wider and covers bowls, cups and serving containers too.

tableware

"Tableware" is a formal, shop-or-catalog word for all eating equipment; "dishes" is the everyday word you use at home.

meals

"Meals" refers to the eating occasions or the food itself, not the containers, so it fits only the food sense of "dishes".

Word family

dish noun

one container for food, or one kind of prepared food

dishware noun

the plates and bowls used for meals, as a group

dishwasher noun

a machine or a person that washes dishes

dishy adjective

informal British word meaning attractive

Commonly confused: dishes or dishes? dishes or discs?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dishes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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