Dish vs bowl vs plate

[Eman Hassan]

Hello

I searched for the difference between "dish", "bowl" and "plate" and somehow dictionary definitions of the three words overlap.

I want to get an insight to how natives use these terms. What comes to your mind when each of these words are used?

I heard that "dish" is the umbrella term for "bowl" and "plate" and pretty much any other utensil. Is this correct?

Thank you

 

[Skrej]

'Dish' can be a synonym for 'plate', or it can encompass all dishware such as plates, bowls, and saucers. Context will clarify which you mean.

Plates provide a (mostly) two-dimensional surface area for simply holding food, while bowls offer a three-dimensional volume to contain the food.

 

[GoesStation]

The plural dishes can encompass pretty much anything that comes in contact with food in a home kitchen -- everything but the kitchen sink, that is. The singular dish refers to a piece of serving ware used to serve or prepare foods. (It has other meanings, too, which I won't go into here.)

A bowl is a vessel, usually with curved or slanted sides, that could contain some quantity of liquid (though it's just as often used for solid or semi-liquid foods).

A plate is usually a nearly flat piece of tableware from which we eat a main course, salad, dessert, bread, or other course in a meal. Wide, shallow soup bowls are sometimes called ​soup plates.

 

[Tdol]

The higher the sides, the more likely I would be to use the word bowl, and the flatter plate.

 

[Eman Hassan]

Thank you, guys.
So, from your comments, I understand that "bowl" is a relatively deep vessel, "plate" is flat and "dish" is the umbrella word for "plates" and "bowls". Am I right?
But when can I use "dish" to refer to the actual ceramic vessel?

 

[probus]

Thank you, guys.
So, from your comments, I understand that "bowl" is a relatively deep vessel, "plate" is flat and "dish" is the umbrella word for "plates" and "bowls". Am I right?
But when can I use "dish" to refer to the actual ceramic vessel?

If you are sure it has high sides use bowl. If you are sure it is flat use plate. If you are unsure, or if the context allows for more than one possibility use dish.