phishing

noun

phish·​ing ˈfi-shiŋ 

: the practice of tricking Internet users (as through the use of deceptive email messages or websites) into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used illicitly

The most common form … is called phishing, a one-two punch using both email and Web browsing to trick people into typing confidential information into Web sites that look like the sites of real companies, especially financial institutions.

—Walter S. Mossberg

Social engineering tactics, such as phishing schemes, are often used by attackers to obtain valid credentials or other personal information.

—Jack Morse

see also spear phishing compare smishing

Did you know?

Phishing is one of the many new computer-related terms that have found their way into the general lexicon over the past decade or so. Its "ph" spelling is influenced by an earlier word for an illicit act: "phreaking." Phreaking involves fraudulently using an electronic device to avoid paying for telephone calls, and its name is suspected of being a shortening of "phone freak." A common phishing scam involves sending emails that appear to come from banks requesting recipients to verify their accounts by typing personal details, such as credit card information, into a website that has been disguised to look like the real thing. Such scams can be thought of as "fishing" for naive recipients.

Examples of phishing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Aug. 8, 2014 Hackers used phishing emails and other illicit entry attempts to deploy malware to the agency over the past three years, according to an inspector general report. —Jean Marbella, Baltimore Sun, 27 June 2025

Last April, the U.S. sanctioned two Iranian companies and several individuals for allegedly working with the cyber unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to launch phishing and malware attacks on American organizations. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 25 June 2025

Many scammers use the internet to commit fraud, phishing and scam attacks, and often seniors are targeted. —Kara McGinley, USA Today, 21 June 2025

Apple this week provided a glimpse into a feature that solves one of the biggest drawbacks of passkeys, the industry-wide standard for website and app authentication that isn't susceptible to credential phishing and other attacks targeting passwords. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

respelling of fishing, with ph- probably after phreaking

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing phishing

• SMS phishing
• spear phishing

Rhymes for phishing

• dishing
• fishing
• swishing
• wishing
• overfishing

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Kids Definition

phishing

noun

phish·​ing ˈfish-iŋ 

: a scam by which an Internet user is fooled into revealing personal information which can then be used illegally

phisher

-ər 

noun

Legal Definition

phishing

noun

phish·​ing ˈfi-shiŋ 

: a fraudulent operation by which an e-mail user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information which can be used for illicit purposes (as identity theft)

Etymology

alteration of fishing (probably influenced by phreaking illegal access to a phone system)