A great deal of dishes (4)
I believe the answer is:
pots
'a great deal of dishes' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'deal of dishes' is the wordplay.
'deal' becomes 'pot' (synonyms).
'of dishes' becomes 's' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pot'+'s'='POTS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pots that I've seen before include "Stop (anag.)" , "Containers; oodles" , "Cooking utensils" , "Gets (a ball) into pocket" , "Ceramics; pockets (ball)" .)