fish for

verb

fished for; fishing for; fishes for

: to ask for or try to get (something, such as praise or attention) in an indirect way

I think he offers apologies for his cooking as a way of fishing for compliments.

fishing for answers

Examples of fish for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But stocks have got so low that, in 2024, the Alaska government, in conjunction with Canada, shut down fishing for king salmon on the Yukon River and its Canadian tributaries for seven years—one complete king-salmon life cycle. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026

In You Can See Everything, Fielder doesn’t get quite as many opportunities to go fishing for reactions like this. — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026

Behind a long counter, a cluster of chefs slice fish for nigiri, and splay more tiles of tuna and salmon over boxes of sushi rice for chirashi. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

The focus on recent decades raises a variety of questions about the deeper history of fishing for tuna prior to the past century. — Torben Rick, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for fish for

• abhor
• abor
• adore
• afore
• ardour
• ashore
• backdoor
• before
• bookstore
• candour
• centaur
• claymore