Wednesday 15 August 2007

AAE Q90: 'food, meal and dish'

Hi,

Can you explain the difference between the words: food, meal and dish?

Thanks

Sylva


Hi Sylva,


Food is something that people and animals eat, or plants absorb, to keep them alive:

baby food
cat food
plant food
There was lots of food and drink at the party.
I'm allergic to certain foods.

A meal is an occasion when food is eaten, or the food which is eaten on such an occasion:

a hot meal
a three-course meal
a heavy (= large) meal
a light (=
small) meal
I have my main meal at midday.
You must come round for a meal sometime.

A dish is food prepared in a particular way as part of a meal:

a chicken/vegetarian dish

"The food I ate for my main meal today was a chicken dish."

Hope this helps

Matt

1 comment:

esha fatima said...

I have always wondered about their differences. Many people think they all have the same meaning but it is wrong. Thanks for letting us know about this. A digital content writer that I know once wrote about it.