loach

American  

[lohch] / loʊtʃ /

noun

1. any of several slender European and Asian fishes of the family Cobitidae and related families, having several barbels around the mouth.

---

Loach ¹ British  

/ ləʊtʃ /

noun

1. Ken ( neth ). born 1936, British television and film director; his works for television include Cathy Come Home (1966) and his films include Kes (1970), Riff-Raff (1991), Bread and Roses (2000), The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006), and The Angels' Share (2012)

---

loach ² British  

/ ləʊtʃ /

noun

1. any carplike freshwater cyprinoid fish of the family Cobitidae, of Eurasia and Africa, having a long narrow body with barbels around the mouth

---

Etymology

Origin of loach

1325–75; Middle English loche < Middle French

Example Sentences

Fish passage has also been opened for other species recorded in the river, including the critically endangered European eel as well as grayling, trout, lamprey, minnow, stone loach, and bullhead.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025

After scrambling in the water for food, this coot eventually caught a loach.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2023

Federally endangered species particularly threatened by the presence of the bovines are the “southwest willow flycatcher, narrow-headed garter snake, Gila chub, loach minnow, and Spikedace,” according to a Forest Service memo.

From Washington Times • Feb. 17, 2023

He compared his personality to that of a loach fish, a freshwater bottom feeder, and said he will “work and sweat to push down-to-earth politics.”

From BusinessWeek • Sep. 1, 2011

The neighbourhood abounds with clay used for making tobacco pipes, and the river Avon supplies a very much admired species of fish called loach.

From Curiosities of Great Britain: England and Wales Delineated Vol.1-11 Historical, Entertaining & Commercial; Alphabetically Arranged. 11 Volume set. by Dugdale, Thomas Cantrell