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Glite Dictionary
staple dish

staple dish

3.2
A common food people in a region eat often as a main part of meals
  • noun
translation icon : plato básico
  • In India, chapati is considered a staple dish, often served with various curries.

Examples

  • Pasta is a staple dish in Italian cuisine, regularly enjoyed with different sauces and toppings.

  • Women make constant daily efforts to find sauces for the staple dish.

    Academic text (1993)

  • This linguistic amalgamation, which reflected overall cultural amalgamation, was characterized by the emergence of gumbo (derived from a West African word for okra) as a staple dish.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Rice and beans are a staple dish in many Latin American countries, providing a nutritious source of protein.

Synonyms

standard fare
vsstaple dish
2 3.1

Food and other things that are usual at a place or event

is specifically essential to the local diet rather than merely common

How Essential

staple dish
3.2
local dish
1 2.3
side dish
19 1.0
treat
398 1.0

Surface Forms

staple dish singular
staple dishes plural

Morphology

staple + dish

The meaning 'a basic or essential food' is directly and compositionally derived from 'staple' (a basic commodity forming a dietary foundation) + 'dish' (a prepared food), with 'staple' used attributively to signal importance. This is a common, transparent combination found across many languages and follows normal noun-noun/attributive patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Staple dish comes from the idea that a staple is something steady people use all the time and a dish is a food. That's why a staple dish means the basic 'everyday' food people rely on in a region.