fish out
Britishverb
-
Also, fish up . Discover and retrieve something from a pile or store. For example, She finally fished out the right letter from the files , or He fished up a scandal for the paper to run in the early edition . This usage likens pulling fish from the sea to finding something. [Mid-1600s]
-
Deplete the fish in a body of water by fishing, as in This stream is completely fished out .
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.
To continue the maritime theme, Wolves have looked like a fish out of water for most of this Premier League campaign.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
And then she will dry her eyes, fish out a few glad rags, throw on a little makeup and get a blowout..
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
“The main things that are going to kill and stress these fish out are either low amounts of oxygen in the water or rapid changes in temperature,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2025
And we scoop trillions of fish out of the water indiscriminately in large nets who are left to die slowly by asphyxiation.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
I fish out my Nokia from the übertight jeans.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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.
