dish

/dɪʃ/

//dɪʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dish" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dish” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,028. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,028
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dish · dish · English

dish · rank #5,028 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,028
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disability

Nearest frequency peer: disability (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “dish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dish vs DS
0% similar
dish vs DIY
0% similar
dish vs DOS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dish
PropertyValue
Headworddish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪʃ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,028
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dish”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “disability” (#5,027), “Douglas” (#5,029), “difficulties” (#5,026). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dish” is #5,028. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around dish (IPA /dɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,028 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for dish, with forms such as "ddish", "dihs", and "dishh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DS", "DIY", "DOS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dissh, disch, from Old English disċ (“plate; bowl; dish”), from Proto-West Germanic *disk (“table; dish”) (whence also Proto-Slavic *dъska, whence Bulgarian дъска́ (dǎská), Polish deska, Russian доска́ (doská)), Russian чан (čan)) from L… The correct English form is dish, spelled D-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle.
  2. 2
    The contents of such a vessel.
  3. 3
    A specific type of prepared food.
  4. 4
    Tableware (including cutlery, etc, as well as crockery) that is to be or is being washed after being used to prepare, serve and eat a meal.
  5. 5
    A type of antenna with a similar shape to a plate or bowl.
  6. 6
    A sexually attractive person.
  7. 7
    The state of being concave, like a dish, or the degree of such concavity.
  8. 8
    A hollow place, as in a field.
  9. 9
    The home plate.
  10. 10
    A trough in which ore is measured.
  11. 11
    That portion of the produce of a mine which is paid to the land owner or proprietor.
  12. 12
    Gossip.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
  2. a dish of stew

Etymology

From Middle English dissh, disch, from Old English disċ (“plate; bowl; dish”), from Proto-West Germanic *disk (“table; dish”) (whence also Proto-Slavic *dъska, whence Bulgarian дъска́ (dǎská), Polish deska, Russian доска́ (doská)), Russian чан (čan)) from Latin discus. Doublet of dais, desk, disc, discus, disk, and diskos. Cognates Cognate with Scots disch (“dish; plate”), Dutch dis (“table”), German Low German Disk, Disch (“table”), German Tisch (“table”), Danish disk (“dish; counter”), Swedish disk (“dish; counter”), Icelandic diskur (“dish; plate”), Finnish tiski (“desk, counter; dish”). Compare the identical meaning expansion (vessel for food, then also content of such a vessel, then also specific type of food): Bulgarian блю́до (bljúdo), Russian блю́до (bljúdo). For the roundness aspect compare Polish rondel (“pan, saucepan”) (< Latin rotundus (whence also English round)). Also compare typologically Proto-Slavic *misъka << Latin mēnsa; Ancient Greek πίναξ (pínax) (several meanings).

This word in other languages

vajilla(Español)assiette(Français)Teller(Deutsch)prato(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddish
  • dihs
  • dishh
  • dissh
  • dsih
  • idsh

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dish - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddish1dihs2dishh1dissh1dsih2idsh2
Edit distance from "dish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dish"?
"dish" is spelled D-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪʃ/.
What does "dish" mean?
As a noun, "dish" means: A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle.
What words are commonly confused with "dish"?
"dish" is commonly confused with "DS", "DIY", "DOS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dish" is /dɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dish"?
From Middle English dissh, disch, from Old English disċ (“plate; bowl; dish”), from Proto-West Germanic *disk (“table; dish”) (whence also Proto-Slavic *dъska, whence Bulgarian дъска́ (dǎská), Polish deska, Russian доска́ (doská)), Russian чан (ča... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

duck#5,031FIFA#5,038Fred#5,044hood#5,051

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

bitter6 variantshung6 variantsowns6 variantsskip6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list