noun,plural (especially collectively) fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) fish·es.
any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
(loosely) any of various other aquatic animals.
the flesh of fishes used as food.
Fishes,Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Pisces.
Informal. a person: an odd fish; a poor fish.
a long strip of wood, iron, etc., used to strengthen a mast, joint, etc.
CardsSlang. an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited.
Slang. a dollar: He sold the car for 500 fish.
Slang.
a new prison inmate.
a high school or college freshman; frosh.
verb (used with object)
to catch or attempt to catch (any species of fish or the like).
to try to catch fish in (a stream, lake, etc.): Let's fish the creek.
to draw, as by fishing (often followed by up or out): He fished a coin out of his pocket for the boy.
to search through, as by fishing.
Nautical.
to secure (an anchor) by raising the flukes.
to reinforce (a mast or other spar) by fastening a spar, batten, metal bar, or the like, lengthwise over a weak place.
verb (used without object)
to catch or attempt to catch fish, as by angling or drawing a net.
to search carefully: He fished through all his pockets but his wallet was gone.
to seek to obtain something indirectly or by artifice: to fish for compliments; to fish for information.
to search for or attempt to catch onto something under water, in mud, etc., by the use of a dredge, rake, hook, or the like.
to attempt to recover detached tools or other loose objects from an oil or gas well.
Verb Phrases
fish out,to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.
Idioms for fish
drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess: Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.
fish in troubled waters, to take advantage of troubled or uncertain conditions for personal profit.
fish or cut bait, to choose a definite course of action, especially to decide whether to participate in or retreat from an activity.
fish out of water, a person out of his or her proper or accustomed environment: He felt like a fish out of water in an academic atmosphere.
neither fish nor fowl, having no specific character or conviction; neither one nor the other.
other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention: When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.
Origin of fish
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English fis(c)h, fyssh, Old English fisc; cognate with Dutch vis, German Fisch, Old Norse fiskr,Gothic fisks; akin to Latin piscis, Irish iasc; (verb) Middle English fishen, Old English fiscian, cognate with Dutch visschen, German fischen, Old Norse fiska, Gothic fiskôn
OTHER WORDS FROM fish
fish·less,adjectivefish·like,adjectiveout·fish,verb (used with object)un·fished,adjective
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fish
fiche, fish
Words nearby fish
fiscal year, Fischer, Fischer-Dieskau, Fischer-Tropsch process, Fischer von Erlach, fish, fishable, fish and brewis, fish and chips, fish-and-chip shop, fish-bellied
Definition for fish (2 of 2)
Fish
[ fish ]
/ fɪʃ /
noun
Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.
On March 20, 2019, fish caught in Ohio’s Cuyahoga River were declared safe to eat by federal environmental regulators.
51 Years Later, the Cuyahoga River Burns Again|Wes Siler|August 28, 2020|Outside Online
The new work provides important context for data being collected on fish stocks.
Species may swim thousands of kilometers to escape ocean heat waves|Carolyn Gramling|August 10, 2020|Science News
Sims and Berni wonder how these ideas might be explored in vertebrates like mice and zebra fish.
Random Search Wired Into Animals May Help Them Hunt|Liam Drew|June 11, 2020|Quanta Magazine
For example, fishes who start living and evolving in unlit caves often lose their eyes, because the costs of developing them outweigh their advantages.
Evolution: Why It Seems to Have a Direction and What to Expect Next|Matthew Wills|June 10, 2020|Singularity Hub
This makes the online world an exceptionally volatile environment, where big fishes swallow the small ones.
SEO on a shoestring budget: What small business owners can do to win|Ali Faagba|June 4, 2020|Search Engine Watch
When Chérif got out of prison, he worked at the fish counter of a supermarket.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Kocurek documented the scene with notes and diagrams, and called the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer corroborated another account.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Fish and Wildlife special agent collected the bodies of two birds at the site, a redhead duck and a mourning dove.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Turtles, fish, ospreys and rare freshwater sharks and sawfish thrive there.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution|Nina Lakhani|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She started to pick busily, while Walter, taking the fish that had been cleaned, began to broil them over the fire.
The Motor Girls in the Mountains|Margaret Penrose
Cut the fish into large pieces, and lay part of it on the pork and onions.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches|Eliza Leslie
It is not a fair way of going to work—the fish has no option.
The best fishing season is from April to October, when the fish come to this bank to feed.
Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine|Walter H. Rich
These were not dependent on the vagaries of the wind and steamed wherever their skippers divined that fish might be.
The Harbor of Doubt|Frank Williams
British Dictionary definitions for fish (1 of 2)
fish
/ (fɪʃ) /
nounpluralfishorfishes
any of a large group of cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates having jaws, gills, and usually fins and a skin covered in scales: includes the sharks and rays (class Chondrichthyes : cartilaginous fishes) and the teleosts, lungfish, etc (class Osteichthyes : bony fishes)
(in combination)fishpond Related adjectives: ichthyic, ichthyoid, piscine
any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey
(not in technical use)any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish
the flesh of fish used as food
informala person of little emotion or intelligencea poor fish
short for fishplate
Also called: tin fish an informal word for torpedo (def. 1)
a fine kettle of fishan awkward situation; mess
drink like a fishto drink (esp alcohol) to excess
have other fish to fryto have other activities to do, esp more important ones
like a fish out of waterout of one's usual place
make fish of one and flesh of anotherIrishto discriminate unfairly between people
neither fish, flesh, nor fowlneither this nor that
verb
(intr)to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc
(tr)to fish in (a particular area of water)
to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water
(intr foll by for) to seek something indirectlyto fish for compliments
See also fish out
Derived forms of fish
fishable, adjectivefishlike, adjective
Word Origin for fish
Old English fisc; related to Old Norse fiskr, Gothic fiscs, Russian piskar, Latin piscis
British Dictionary definitions for fish (2 of 2)
FISH
/ (fɪʃ) /
n acronym for
fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities
Any of numerous cold-blooded vertebrate animals that live in water. Fish have gills for obtaining oxygen, a lateral line for sensing pressure changes in the water, and a vertical tail. Most fish are covered with scales and have limbs in the form of fins. Fish were once classified together as a single group, but are now known to compose numerous evolutionarily distinct classes, including the bony fish, cartilaginous fish, jawless fish, lobe-finned fish, and placoderms.