fish and chips

American

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

fried fish fillets and French fries.

fish and chips British

noun

fish fillets coated with batter and deep-fried, eaten with potato chips

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fish and chips

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

All of sudden fish and chips on the River Thames in London or a boat trip down the Seine don’t seem too far-fetched.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

In one case the server gestured to a sign which said "traditional fish and chips".

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

"I think it's cool that he's here," said Harry James, 21, who works in a fish and chips shop in New York.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

He fears that customers "will stop buying so much fish and chips and they'll stop going out for meals so much".

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

This time it was fish and chips which Mrs Wormwood had picked up in the fish and chip shop on her way home from bingo.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023