Glossary
Dishwasher Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential dishwasher terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key dishwasher vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in dishwasher training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Air dry
- Drying without towels.
- Clean side
- Where clean dishes go.
- Delime
- Removing mineral buildup.
- Dirty side
- Where dirty dishes arrive.
- Dish pit
- Dishwashing area.
- FIFO
- First in, first out.
- Final rinse temperature
- Sanitizing heat.
- Grease trap
- Catches grease.
- Pot sink
- Sink for pots.
- Pre-rinse
- Spraying off food.
- Rack
- Dish holder for machines.
- Sanitizer
- Germ-killing chemical.
- Steward
- Dish and cleaning worker.
- Test strip
- Checks sanitizer.
- Three-compartment sink
- Wash, rinse, sanitize sink.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Dishwasher practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Dishwasher training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.