fetching
Americanadjective
adjective
-
attractively befitting
a fetching hat
-
charming
a fetching personality
Other Word Forms
- fetchingly adverb
- unfetching adjective
Etymology
Origin of fetching
Explanation
To be fetching is to be attractive and beautitful. A fetching woman catches people's interest. When a dog fetches something, he grabs it, just like attractive sights take your interest. Fetching is a word for sights that capture your interest because of their beauty. Usually, this word applies to females: you're most likely to read about a lovely, fetching woman. A beautiful woman who everyone looks at is fetching: she grabs their attention. You could also say other things, like a gorgeous mountain or a well-designed building, are fetching if they grab your attention.
Vocabulary lists containing fetching
The Downstairs Girl
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The Shakespeare Stealer
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Moon Over Manifest
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Through Stacy’s fetching sadness, we come to know that maybe a certain motivational speaker was right.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
Khan’s younger son fell for Durrushehvar’s fetching cousin, and so the two couples wed in Nice in 1931 in an elaborate wedding before taking ship for Hyderabad.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
As of Tuesday’s close, it was fetching just 5.5-times its projected earnings for 2026.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
A fetching lass in Regency garb and her paramour, confessing his ardor.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026
“Suit yourself. But I did see Pearl Ann Larkin trying on a fetching hat at the millinery today. Big pink thing with feathers. She waved at me through the window.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
