dish out

1. 1.

   administer or bestow, as in small portions

   “administer critical remarks to everyone present”

   “dole out some money”

   “shell out pocket money for the children”

   “deal a blow to someone”

   “the machine dispenses soft drinks”

   Synonymsdistributeadministermete outdealparcel outlotdispenseshell outdeal outallotdole out

   Broadergive

   Narrowerassignreallotdealgive
2. 2.

   provide (usually but not necessarily food)

   “We serve meals for the homeless”

   “She dished out the soup at 8 P.M.”

   “The entertainers served up a lively show”

   Synonymsserveserve updish updish

   Broaderprovide

   Narrowerplank

Questions about dish out

What does dish out mean?

dish out means "administer or bestow, as in small portions". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for dish out?

Close synonyms include distribute, administer, mete out, deal, parcel out. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is dish out a common word?

dish out is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.