Jump To:

• fish
  fish

  noun

  any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
• Fish
  Fish

  noun

  Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.
• FISH
  FISH

  acronym

  fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities

fish

¹ American  

[fish] / fɪʃ /

noun

• fish,
  plural
• fishes
  plural

1. any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.

2. (loosely) any of various aquatic animals.

3. the flesh of fishes used as food.

4. Astronomy, Astrology. Fishes, the constellation or sign of Pisces.

5. Informal. a person.

   an odd fish; a poor fish.

6. a long strip of wood, iron, etc., used to strengthen a mast, joint, etc.

7. Cards Slang. an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited.

8. Slang. a dollar.

   He sold the car for 500 fish.

9. Slang.

   1. a new prison inmate.

   2. a high school or college freshman; frosh.

---

verb (used with object)

• fishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fished,
  past participle,  past
• fishing
  present participle

1. to catch or attempt to catch (any species of fish or the like).

2. to try to catch fish in (a stream, lake, etc.).

   Let's fish the creek.

3. to draw, as by fishing (often followed by up orout ).

   He fished a coin out of his pocket for the boy.

4. to search through, as by fishing.

5. Nautical.

   1. to secure (an anchor) by raising the flukes.

   2. 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)

• fishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fished,
  past participle,  past
• fishing
  present participle

1. to catch or attempt to catch fish, as by angling or drawing a net.

2. to search carefully.

   He fished through all his pockets but his wallet was gone.

3. to seek to obtain something indirectly or by artifice.

   to fish for compliments; to fish for information.

4. 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.

5. to attempt to recover detached tools or other loose objects from an oil or gas well.

verb phrase

1. fish out to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.

idioms

1. fish in troubled waters, to take advantage of troubled or uncertain conditions for personal profit.

2. fish or cut bait, to choose a definite course of action, especially to decide whether to participate in or retreat from an activity.

3. other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention.

   When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.

4. drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess.

   Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.

5. fish out of water, a person out of their proper or accustomed environment.

   He felt like a fish out of water in an academic atmosphere.

6. neither fish nor fowl, having no specific character or conviction; neither one nor the other.

Fish ² American  

[fish] / fɪʃ /

noun

1. Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.

---

fish ¹ British  

/ fɪʃ /

noun

1. 1. 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 )

   2. ( in combination )

      fishpond

2. any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey

3. (not in technical use) any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish

4. the flesh of fish used as food

5. informal a person of little emotion or intelligence

   a poor fish

6. short for fishplate

7. Also called: tin fish. an informal word for torpedo

8. an awkward situation; mess

9. to drink (esp alcohol) to excess

10. to have other activities to do, esp more important ones

11. out of one's usual place

12. to discriminate unfairly between people

13. neither this nor that

---

verb

1. (intr) to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc

2. (tr) to fish in (a particular area of water)

3. to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water

4. to seek something indirectly

   to fish for compliments

FISH ² British  

/ fɪʃ /

acronym

1. fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities

---

fish Scientific  

/ fĭsh /

• fish
  plural

1. 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.

---

fish More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fish

• big fish in a small pond
• cold fish
• drink like a fish
• goldfish bowl
• kettle of fish
• like shooting fish in a barrel
• neither fish nor fowl
• not the only fish in the sea
• other fish to fry
• smell fishy

---

Usage

What else does fish mean? Fish, appearing especially in the phrase fresh fish, is prison slang for new, first-time inmates, usually considered naive and vulnerable. Fish, often appearing in the form of fishy or the phrase serving fish, is also slang in drag culture for a very feminine drag queen. Content warning: this article contains references to sexual and sexist content.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outfish
  verb (used with object)
• fishable
  adjective
• fishless
  adjective
• fishlike
  adjective
• unfished
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fish
  plural
• fishes
  plural

Participles

• fishing
  present
• fished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fish
  simple
• fishes
  simple
• have fished
  perfect
• has fished
  perfect
• am fishing
  progressive
• are fishing
  progressive
• is fishing
  progressive
• have been fishing
  perfect progressive
• has been fishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• fished
  simple
• had fished
  perfect
• was fishing
  progressive
• were fishing
  progressive
• had been fishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fish
  simple
• will have fished
  perfect
• will be fishing
  progressive
• will have been fishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

A fish is a cold-blooded aquatic vertebrate with scales and gills, like a shark, a trout, or a pike. To fish is to try to catch a fish. Fish comes from an old German version of the Latin word for "fish," piscus, from which you might recognize the astrological sign Pisces. The word can describe either the creature or the meat from the creature. When fish is a verb, it can be used literally for the act of trying to catch a fish, or metaphorically for trying to find something, like fishing for someone's name in your memory.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fish Fish FISH fishes fished fishing

With the activities and plentiful food such as fresh fish, tempeh and lightly blanched vegetables, the experience felt more like a vacation than my time in Italy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The eating pattern emphasizes green leafy vegetables; other vegetables; berries; nuts; whole grains; fish; beans; olive oil; and poultry, along with moderate wine consumption.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

"The fish are no longer able to reproduce," he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

Mercury contamination, toxic algal blooms and invasive fishes have threatened a rare and revered local fish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Lord Cunningham was probably at his dinner, thinking of the fish that had been cooked for him instead of the ones Sean and I would take.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Fish and Wildlife Service would give SpaceX around 700 acres near Starbase in exchange for a similarly sized plot in another part of the county.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Local Fish: Piscatorial Perceptions” is all about fish: big ones and little ones, real and imagined, tasty and dangerous.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

A three-ingredient treat: If you’d rather nosh on a less processed snack, Noah Lederman recommends a super-fresh dish that’s perfect for late summer: a heavenly concoction he’s dubbed Fish Crudo With Melon and Tomato Water.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

The University of Tennessee and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

For they gave me no sign for a month yet that I was any nearer achieving that purpose than I had been at Fish Island.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

One can determine the pedigree of a disease, produce recombinants and detect the presence of extracellular genes using FISH.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

N.M.-T. aided in probe design, optimization of RNA FISH, and performed flow cytometry.

From Nature ● Sep. 24, 2017

Finally, a yet more sensitive test, called FISH, was done.

From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2012

And pop star Shakira has been attacked by a raging sea lion which thought her mobile phone was a FISH.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 14, 2012

As a Ph.D. student, he’d used HeLa to help develop something called fluorescence in situ hybridization, otherwise known as FISH, a technique for painting chromosomes with multicolored fluorescent dyes that shine bright under ultraviolet light.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Now, when you think about the miracle of the fishes and the loaves in each of the four first books of the New Testament, it’s that important.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

It says the blue shark is one of Ireland's largest and most valuable marine sport fishes.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

John van Rooyen regularly surfs and spear fishes at the Tinley Manor beach, about 2 miles from where he lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The study, published in the journal Science, focuses on "mesothermic" fishes.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026

Arsenic-contaminated environments have also caused sickness and death among horses, cows, goats, pigs, deer, fishes, and bees; despite this record arsenical sprays and dusts are widely used.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

The debate over FFS grew so rancorous that Bassmaster decided that this year’s Elite Series would be split in half–half of the tournaments would be fished with FFS, and the half would prohibit FFS completely.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

There’s a predictable resistance of In my day we fished with a wooden stick and a bottle cap and caught fish the size of Buicks, etc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"I just remember looking into the river and seeing all these dead fish and I knew something was seriously wrong, I haven't fished in it since then, it's never been the same," Scullion said.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Roughly a dozen people at the if-you-know-you-know event grooved and shuffled to EDM music while kayak enthusiasts paddled by and locals fished for carp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

She quickly slid Nova’s backpack off her shoulder and fished around inside, keeping eye contact with Dodger the whole time to make sure he didn’t run away.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Environmental and fishing advocates say they’re hoping the seasonal rains come soon to refill the river and allow the fish to reach the creeks where they can lay their eggs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

They have lived by hunting, fishing and reindeer herding for thousands of years, and been subjected to colonisation for centuries.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

The team took inspiration for the setting from the tiny fishing village of St Monans in Fife.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

A visit to Saint-Tropez occasions a portrait of a “sleepy little fishing village” in the years before Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso arrived on the scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

But then Father Finnegan surprised Danny and his foster siblings with a fishing trip.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova