fish

verb

fished; fishing; fishes

intransitive verb

1

: to catch or attempt to catch fish

2

: to seek something by roundabout means

fishing for a compliment

3

a

: to search for something underwater

fish for pearls

b

: to engage in a search by groping or feeling

fishing around in her purse for her keys

transitive verb

1

a

: to catch or try to catch fish in

fishing the stream

b

: to fish with : use (something, such as a boat, a net, or bait) in fishing

Fishing a fly … often produces a series of multiple hits …

—Nelson Bryant

2

a

: to go fishing for

fish salmon

b

: to pull or draw as if fishing

fished the ball from under the car

fish wires through a conduit

fishability

ˌfi-shə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

fishable

ˈfi-shə-bəl 

adjective

see also:

fish or cut bait

Synonyms of fish

• fumble
• look
• reach
• feel

Examples of fish in a Sentence

We spent the afternoon fishing for trout.

They fished the stream all morning.

She was fishing around in her purse for her keys.

Recent Examples on the Web

The state’s typical daily limit for trout fishing on a reservoir is five. —Evan Bush, NBC news, 2 June 2026

To punish rebels for their treason, Parliament passed the Restraining Act of 1775, banning New Englanders from fishing on the Atlantic Ocean. —Christopher Magra, The Conversation, 2 June 2026

The Kenyan government's Lake Turkana Fisheries Management Plan has imposed regulations designed to protect juvenile fish and make certain breeding grounds off limits to fishing. —Tommy Trenchard, NPR, 31 May 2026

But until now, nobody had tested what these compounds do to fish living freely in a natural ecosystem. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing fish

• a big fish in a little pond
• a big fish in a small pond
• bony fish
• butterfly fish
• cartilaginous fish
• clown fish
• coarse fish
• cold fish
• fish and chips
• fish cake
• fish duck
• fish-eye
• fish-eye lens
• fish farm
• fish finger
• fish for
• fish for compliments
• fish fry
• fish hawk
• fish in the sea
• fish ladder
• fish meal
• fish oil
• fish or cut bait
• fish out
• fish out of water
• fish protein concentrate
• fish slice
• fish stick
• fish story
• fish tank
• fish to fry
• fly fish
• flying fish
• game fish
• gefilte fish
• jawless fish
• kettle of fish
• lantern fish
• magnet-fish
• many/plenty more fish in the sea
• mosquito fish
• neither fish nor fowl
• not the only fish in the sea
• odd fish
• odd/queer fish
• parrot fish
• pilot fish
• porcupine fish
• puffer fish
• rainbow fish
• rough fish
• scorpion fish
• sergeant fish
• Siamese fighting fish
• sport fish
• trash fish
• tropical fish
• tuna fish
• zebra fish

Rhymes for fish

• dish
• lish
• swish
• wish
• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish

Kids Definition

fish

1 of 2 noun

ˈfish 

plural fish or fishes

1

a

: a water-dwelling animal

—usually used in combination

starfish

cuttlefish

b

: a cold-blooded vertebrate animal with a typically long scaly tapering body, limbs developed as fins, and a vertical tail fin that lives and breathes in water

2

: the flesh of fish used as food

fishlike

-ˌlīk 

adjective

fish

2 of 2 verb

1

: to catch or try to catch fish

2

a

: to catch or try to catch fish in

fish the stream

b

: to search for something underwater

fishing for pearls

3

: to seek something by or as if by groping or feeling

fished for compliments

fished in his pocket for change