tench

American  

[tench] / tɛntʃ /

noun

• tenches,
  plural
• tench
  plural

1. a freshwater food fish, Tinca tinca, of Europe and Asia that can survive short periods out of water.

---

tench British  

/ tɛntʃ /

noun

1. a European freshwater cyprinid game fish, Tinca tinca, having a thickset dark greenish body with a barbel at each side of the mouth

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tench
  plural
• tenches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tench

1350–1400; Middle English tenche < Middle French, Old French < Late Latin tinca

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tench tenches

Four heat exchangers are submerged in the 1.7 metre deep water, which is also home to dozens of koi carp and tench – fish that have their own role in the operation.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

McDowell and Bayley have been the darlings of fly fishermen for decades, although McDowell has become infested with tench and will need a rehabilitation project to restore a productive trout fishery.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 5, 2014

Troops from the Mercian regiment's first battalion, who are due for postings in Helmand province, are tackling bream, carp and tench in lakes at the nearby village of Carlton Miniott.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 30, 2010

The Wart is a fish, learning self-preservation from a tench and a pike.

From Time Magazine Archive

He moved his own fins anti-clockwise, gave the tip of his tail a cunning flick, and was lying alongside the tench.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

If he got a bite he was excited enough: and in this way occasionally brought home, carps, tenches, and eels, which the major cooked in the continental fashion.

From A History of Pendennis, Volume 1 His fortunes and misfortunes, his friends and his greatest enemy by William Makepeace Thackeray

If he got a bite he was excited enough: and in this way occasionally brought home carps, tenches, and eels, which the Major cooked in the Continental fashion.

From The History of Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray