: any of numerous cold-blooded strictly aquatic craniate vertebrates that include the bony fishes and usually the cartilaginous and jawless fishes and that have typically an elongated somewhat spindle-shaped body terminating in a broad caudal (see caudalsense 2) fin, limbs in the form of fins when present at all, and a 2-chambered heart by which blood is sent through thoracic gills to be oxygenated
freshwater fish
tropical fish
2
: the flesh of fish used as food
We're having fish for dinner.
3
a
: a person who is caught or is wanted (as in a criminal investigation)
Noun We're having fish for dinner. he's rather an odd fishVerb 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
Noun
The signature dish, however, is the traditional Trapani fish couscous. Marykate Boylan, Town & Country, 17 Sep. 2022 The whole movie was about a fish that can’t find his dad. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2022 His 35-pound kingfish catch was the heaviest fish caught in the tournament. Emmett Hall, Sun Sentinel, 15 Sep. 2022 Lampreys are parasitic fish with a suction-cup mouth, ringed with sharp, horny teeth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bill Laitner, USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2022 The oceans are already overfished, and soon there won’t be enough fish for the millions of spicy tuna rolls consumed each year in the U.S. Pat Saperstein, Variety, 31 Aug. 2022 That was enough fish to serve a quarter-pound of salmon to every person in America.Anchorage Daily News, 28 Aug. 2022 Is a prehistoric fish making a comeback in Georgia? Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2022 In other words, the National Zoo is neither fish nor fowl. James V. Grimaldi, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
Verb
And fish, and deers, and deer antlers, and birds, and the sky and love. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2022 As of 2020, Alaskans hold 44% of the 1,862 drift gillnet fleet permits, and 64% of the 964 permits to fish from beaches with setnets. Loren Holmes, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Aug. 2022 Her foster parents had a farm in Kinder, La., and taught her how to fish, hunt, can, sew and milk cows. Gale Hollandstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2022 Haltermann learned to fish at the national park with his dad and returns about twice a month. Ashlee Burns, USA TODAY, 20 May 2022 For adults wanting to fish a bit with the kids, hang around. D'arcy Egan, cleveland, 12 May 2022 The birds used both the twigs and the leaves to fish prey out of crevices. Marlene Zuk, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Aug. 2022 Event organizer Marty Wright said fishermen could fish for sharks from Ocean Isle Beach to Oak Island, and that participants would only be using baitfish dropped from kayaks about 300 to 600 feet offshore, WWAY reported. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 20 July 2022 Today, most of the local economy depends on tourists who come to splash in the reservoir, which extends deep into Wyoming, or to fish and float the Green. Bill Weir, CNN, 18 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Old English fisc; akin to Old High German fisc fish, Latin piscis
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a