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Geoyo Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Dish

What kind of foods do you call a dish? I read it's everything which is served on / in a food container is called a dish. So that would be about everything, except for a hamburger maybe. Is it really true? What about the following things:

-Pizza in a cardboard box
-Soup/cereal in a bowl
-Sandwich on a plate

Can you call them dishes? And does it matter if it's sweet or salty? And does it matter if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner?
  

Top answer

In American English, "dish" refers to one separate component of a meal. It is not used very often in this context, either. It is mainly used as the plates you eat from.

— AlpheccaStars

  • In American English, "dish" refers to one separate component of a meal.
  • It is not used very often in this context, either.
  • It is mainly used as the plates you eat from.
  • The main dish (the most important part) of an English dinner is a meat dish.
  • Vegetable dishes are served on the side.
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7 Answers
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In American English, "dish" refers to one separate component of a meal. It is not used very often in this context, either.
It is mainly used as the plates you eat from.

The main dish (the most important part) of an English dinner is a meat dish. Vegetable dishes are served on the side.
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But isn't "sweet dish" a very common expression? I have read it very often. Regarding my examples, you would not call them dishes?

What I also want to know is, if "dish" can only refer to a meal served on plates? What about a meal in a bowl?
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'A dish' refers to food prepared in a particular way.

It doesn't matter whether it is served on plates, in bowls, or simply eaten off the floor. It doesn't even matter if nobody eats it at all.

Clive
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Thank you Clive, that was helpful. Just to clarify some more, would a peeled banana be referred to as a dish? Because I'm not quite sure what counts as "prepared in a particular way". Or peanuts, are they a dish? Maybe only when they are prepared, e.g. salted and in a bag? What about a slice of bread?
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geoyowould a peeled banana be referred to as a dish?
No.

To me, a dish is a more general term, not a particular food like a bag of peanuts or a sliced banana.

eg. You go to a restaurant, and they say you can pick a meat dish and two vegetable dishes for a set price. Your choice of bread (biscuits, muffins, etc.) is served at the table.
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Just to clarify some more, would a peeled banana be referred to as a dish? Because I'm not quite sure what counts as "prepared in a particular way". Or peanuts, are they a dish? Maybe only when they are prepared, e.g. salted and in a bag? What about a slice of bread?

I certainly wouldn't consider minor things like that 'a dish'. That just sounds silly. A dish
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Thank you all for your thorough explanations. I think I now understand the meaning of 'dish'.
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