fist

1 of 2

noun

ˈfist 

1

: the hand clenched with the fingers doubled into the palm and the thumb doubled inward across the fingers

pounded on the door with both fists

2

: the hand closed as in grasping : clutch

held the coin in his fist

3

: index sense 5

fist

2 of 2

verb

fisted; fisting; fists

transitive verb

1

: to grip with the fist : handle

2

: to clench into a fist

Examples of fist in a Sentence

Noun

He pounded his fist on the table in anger.

She pounded on the door with both fists.

He defiantly shook his fist at the policeman.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Wahlberg and Harington engage in a vigorous fist fight on the top level of a double-decker bus crossing the Thames. —Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 20 Nov. 2025

Fat fist clutching the handle of a large spoon, up in into my mouth, covered with black hairs, gray ones and random brown dots is what my eyes remember of their first consciousness. —Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025

Police said Rucker assaulted a Chicago police officer, punched a woman in the face with a closed fist, spat on a woman, and punched a woman in the back of the head on a Chicago Transit Authority 'L' platform. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025

Critics interpreted the shirt’s design—a white hand in a posture reminiscent of a Nazi salute raised above a Black Power fist—as symbolizing racial dominance. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English fȳst; akin to Old High German fūst fist, Polish pięść, and probably to Old English fīf five

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fist

• fist bump
• fist pump
• hand over fist
• mailed fist
• make a good fist of
• make a poor fist of
• rule with an iron fist/hand

Rhymes for fist

• cist
• cyst
• gist
• grist
• hissed
• kissed
• kist
• list
• missed
• mist
• schist
• tryst

Kids Definition

fist

noun

ˈfist

1

: the hand clenched with fingers doubled into the palm

2

: index entry 1 sense 4

Medical Definition

fist

noun

ˈfist 

: the hand clenched with the fingers doubled into the palm and the thumb doubled inward across the fingers