Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A dish served as an accompaniment to the main course.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A dish considered as subordinate, and not the principal one of the service or course; hence, any dish made somewhat elaborate with flavorings and sauce, as distinguished from a joint, pair of fowls, or other substantial dish.
Wiktionary
- n. A serving of food meant as an accompanying dish.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. one of the dishes subordinate to the main course.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a dish that is served with, but is subordinate to, a main course
Examples
“They were a side dish for my lunch, a grilled cheese and soy bacon sandwich, made on seven-grain bread with organic, grass-fed, raw-milk cheddar and, at my request, heart-healthy mayonnaise.”
“Susan knows I have a special place on my palate for chicken cacciatore hunters-style chicken so it will often happen that, after the red peppers have been eaten, shell bring a huge platter to the table: chicken pieces, peppers, onions, mushrooms, all in a strong gravy, accompanied by a side dish of broccoli rabe or escarole.”
“Add some salt, ketchup, melted cheese, and gravy, or even gulp! mayonnaise, and you have taken the side dish to center stage, outdoing the rest of your meal in sodium, fat, and calories.”
“While doing research in Costa Rica during medical school, I enjoyed gallo pinto a mixture of black beans and rice for breakfast every day, and had black beans as a side dish with nearly every meal.”
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chained_bear "These dishes were also called the sides, because they lined the sides of the table, as opposed to the ends and the center. Two sides and four kickshaws were considered adequate for four to six people."
—Susan Williams, Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America (New York: Pantheon Books, 1985), 176 May 3, 2010