1 A2 informal
To serve a prepared meal or food onto plates, ready for eating.
"Can you dish up the pasta while I pour the drinks?"
separable
dish up
B1 informal separable transitive
To serve food or present something ready for use or consumption.
In plain English
To put food on plates and get it ready for people to eat.
What does "dish up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
To present or provide something (information, entertainment, excuses) in a ready-made way.
"The documentary dishes up a fascinating account of life in the 1920s."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To move food up from a cooking dish onto serving plates.
Actually means
To put food on plates and get it ready for people to eat.
Usage tip
Most commonly used in domestic or cooking contexts. Can be used figuratively to mean presenting information or entertainment. Common in British and Australian English in everyday speech.
Words that pair with "dish up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
dinner meal food pasta stew information
How to conjugate "dish up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
dish up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
dishes up
he/she/it
Past simple
dished up
yesterday
Past participle
dished up
have + pp
-ing form
dishing up
continuous
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