fetch

¹ American  

[fech] / fɛtʃ /

verb (used with object)

fetches, present (3rd person singular) fetched, past participle, past fetching present participle

1. to go and bring back; return with; get.

   to go up a hill to fetch a pail of water.

2. to cause to come; bring.

   to fetch a doctor.

3. to sell for or bring (a price, financial return, etc.).

   The horse fetched $50 more than it cost.

4. Informal. to charm; captivate.

   Her beauty fetched the coldest hearts.

5. to take (a breath).

6. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc.).

7. to deal or deliver (a stroke, blow, etc.).

8. to perform or execute (a movement, step, leap, etc.).

9. Chiefly Nautical and British Dialect. to reach; arrive at.

   to fetch port.

10. Hunting. (of a dog) to retrieve (game).

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verb (used without object)

fetches, present (3rd person singular) fetched, past participle, past fetching present participle

1. to go and bring things.

2. Chiefly Nautical. to move or maneuver.

3. Hunting. to retrieve game (often used as a command to a dog).

4. to go by an indirect route; circle (often followed by around orabout ).

   We fetched around through the outer suburbs.

noun

1. the act of fetching.

2. the distance of fetching.

   a long fetch.

3. Oceanography.

   1. an area where ocean waves are being generated by the wind.

   2. the length of such an area.

4. the reach or stretch of a thing.

5. a trick; dodge.

verb phrase

1. fetch about (of a sailing vessel) to come onto a new tack.

2. fetch up

   1. Informal. to arrive or stop.

   2. Older Use. to raise (children); bring up.

      She had to fetch up her younger sisters.

   3. Nautical. (of a vessel) to come to a halt, as by lowering an anchor or running aground; bring up.

idioms

1. fetch and carry, to perform menial tasks.

fetch ² American  

[fech] / fɛtʃ /

noun

1. wraith.

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fetch ¹ British  

/ fɛtʃ /

verb

1. to go after and bring back; get

   to fetch help

2. to cause to come; bring or draw forth

   the noise fetched him from the cellar

3. (also intr) to cost or sell for (a certain price)

   the table fetched six hundred pounds

4. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc)

5. informal to deal (a blow, slap, etc)

6. (also intr) nautical to arrive at or proceed by sailing

7. informal to attract

   to be fetched by an idea

8. (used esp as a command to dogs) to retrieve (shot game, an object thrown, etc)

9. rare to draw in (a breath, gasp, etc), esp with difficulty

10. to perform menial tasks or run errands

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noun

1. the reach, stretch, etc, of a mechanism

2. a trick or stratagem

3. the distance in the direction of the prevailing wind that air or water can travel continuously without obstruction

fetch ² British  

/ fɛtʃ /

noun

1. the ghost or apparition of a living person

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Usage

What else does fetch mean? Fetch is slang for “cool” or “awesome" and is not, in fact, from England. It started as a joke in the movie Mean Girls, only to catch on off-screen.

Synonym Usage

See bring.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fetcher
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has fetched
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have fetched
  perfect
• am fetching
  progressive 1st person singular
• are fetching
  progressive
• has been fetching
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been fetching
  perfect progressive
• fetches
  singular 3rd person
• is fetching
  progressive 3rd person singular
• fetching
  participle

Past

• had fetched
  perfect
• were fetching
  progressive plural
• had been fetching
  perfect progressive
• was fetching
  progressive singular
• fetched
  simple
• fetched
  participle

Future

• will fetch
  simple
• will have fetched
  perfect
• will be fetching
  progressive
• will have been fetching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fetch¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fecchen, facchen, Old English fecc(e)an, fæccan “to bring back”; akin to German fassen “to grasp”

Origin of fetch²

First recorded in 1780–90; origin unknown; perhaps short for fetch-life one sent to fetch the soul of a dying person

Explanation

To fetch something is to go and get it. "Go fetch!" you might shout after your dog while throwing a stick into the yard. Fetch comes from the Old English fatian meaning "grasp." When a dog fetches a bone, it grasps it in its mouth. You can ask your sister to fetch or grab your backpack off the table. If you sell something for a good price, you can fetch, or bring in, a decent amount of money. If you are sick of playing fetch, you might try to fetch a good price for your pooch.

Example Sentences

Being debt-free can also fetch you a lower interest rate.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

A couple who spotted two paintings in a skip while walking their dog have seen them fetch £16,000 at auction.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

Still, the stakes in the funds—to varying degrees—are valued below the $2 trillion market capitalization that SpaceX could fetch on Day One as a public company.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

The endeavor has also failed to widely capture the interest of shoppers and designers, especially when polyester and other materials fetch much lower prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Dr. Harlow was not to be found, so the rider was sent on to the next village to fetch Dr. Williams.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Related Words

• carry
• earn
• go for
• obtain
• produce
• retrieve
• sell
• sell for
• yield