- present participle of fetch.
fetching
Americanadjective
adjective
-
attractively befitting
a fetching hat
-
charming
a fetching personality
Other Word Forms
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.
In my case, my 2023 Mercedes EQS had an end-of-lease buyout of nearly $60,000, between $15,000 and $20,000 higher than what used examples were fetching from retailers like CarMax.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
More than 3.5 million people applied for invitation codes for early access, with some codes fetching thousands of dollars on online resale markets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Edinburgh's own Duke of Wellington statue, outside Register House in the city centre, was spotted sporting fetching, orange headwear earlier this week.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Cogen sold a combined 986,540 indirectly owned shares across five trusts and holding companies that he manages, fetching a total of $106 million.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
“You were my steward, fetching my food and cleaning up my leavings. I was lord commander, with never a moment’s peace.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
