phish

American  

[fish] / fɪʃ /

Sometimes brand spoof

verb (used without object)

1. to try to obtain financial or other confidential information from internet users, typically by sending an email that looks as if it is from a legitimate organization, usually a financial institution, but contains a link to a fake website that replicates the real one.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to make (someone) a victim in this way.

   If you've been phished, you should cancel your credit cards immediately.

Other Word Forms

• phisher
  noun

Etymology

Origin of phish

First recorded in 1995–2000; respelling (influenced by phreak ) of fish

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phish

“They’re no longer trying to phish your password,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The surveillance was conducted by the force's cyber-SIGINT unit to "phish for intelligence even before any investigation had been opened against the targets, and without judicial warrants", according to the newspaper.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2022

Image: 1Password Attackers often use leaked databases of reused passwords and email addresses to phish people, but they need both your email address and password to access a service.

From The Verge ● Sep. 28, 2021

They were so bad they made 2019’s tuna phish look like Don Shula’s invincibles.

From Golf Digest ● Mar. 26, 2020

Like current ads that spoof legitimate sites in order to phish for user information, faux AR ads could trick users into clicking.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2018