fish

UK: /ˈfɪʃ/ US: /fɪʃ/ ,(fish)

Inflections of 'fish' (n):

fish

npl (Especially as a collective plural—e.g. "There are plenty more fish in the sea.")

fishes

npl (Mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "Cod, trout, and salmon are all fishes.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

fish /fɪʃ/   n., pl. (esp. when thought of as a group) fish, (esp. for kinds or species) fish•es, v. 
n. 

1. Fish [countable] a cold-blooded animal living in water, having gills, fins, and usually a long body covered with scales.
2. Fish the flesh of a fish used as food:
   [uncountable] a recipe for fish with potatoes.

v. 

3. to go fishing (for): [~ + object]
   to fish trout.
   [no object]
   I was fishing all day.
   [~ + for + object]
   fishing for salmon.
4. to draw or pull out as if fishing:
   [~ + object (+ out of + object)] He fished a coin out of his pocket.
5. to seek to obtain something indirectly:
   [~ + for + object] fishing for a compliment.

Idioms

6. Idioms fish out of water, a person who feels out of place:
   felt like a fish out of water in the big city.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

fish  (fish), n., pl. (esp. collectively) fish,  (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) fish•es, v. 
n. 

1. Fish any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
2. Fish (loosely) any of various other aquatic animals.
3. Fish the flesh of fishes used as food.
4. Astronomy, Astrology Fishes, the constellation or sign of Pisces.
5. Informal Terms a person:
   an odd fish; a poor fish.
6. a long strip of wood, iron, etc., used to strengthen a mast, joint, etc.
7. Games [Cards Slang.] an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited.
8. Slang Terms a dollar:
   He sold the car for 500 fish.
9. Slang Terms a new prison inmate.
10. Idioms drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess:
    Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.
11. Idioms fish out of water, a person out of his or her proper or accustomed environment:
    He felt like a fish out of water in an academic atmosphere.
12. Idioms neither fish nor fowl, having no specific character or conviction;
    neither one nor the other.
13. Idioms other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention:
    When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.

v.t. 

14. to catch or attempt to catch (any species of fish or the like).
15. to try to catch fish in (a stream, lake, etc.):
    Let's fish the creek.
16. to draw, as by fishing (often fol. by up or out):
    He fished a coin out of his pocket for the boy.
17. to search through, as by fishing.
18. [Naut.]
    • Naval Terms to secure (an anchor) by raising the flukes.
    • Naval Terms to reinforce (a mast or other spar) by fastening a spar, batten, metal bar, or the like, lengthwise over a weak place.

v.i. 

19. to catch or attempt to catch fish, as by angling or drawing a net.
20. to search carefully:
    He fished through all his pockets but his wallet was gone.
21. to seek to obtain something indirectly or by artifice:
    to fish for compliments; to fish for information.
22. to search for or attempt to catch onto something under water, in mud, etc., by the use of a dredge, rake, hook, or the like.
23. Mining to attempt to recover detached tools or other loose objects from an oil or gas well.
24. Idioms fish in troubled waters, to take advantage of troubled or uncertain conditions for personal profit.
25. Idioms fish or cut bait, to choose a definite course of action, esp. to decide whether to participate in or retreat from an activity.
26. fish out, to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.

• bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English fis(c)h, fyssh, Old English fisc; cognate with Dutch vis, German Fisch, Old Norse fiskr, Gothic fisks; akin to Latin piscis, Irish iasc; (verb, verbal) Middle English fishen, Old English fiscian, cognate with Dutch visschen, German fischen, Old Norse fiska, Gothic fiskôn

fish′less, adj. 

Fish  (fish), n. 

1. Biographical Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

fish / fɪʃ/ noun (fish, fishes)

1. any of a large group of cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates having jaws, gills, and usually fins and a skin covered in scales: includes the sharks and rays (class Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fishes) and the teleosts, lungfish, etc (class Osteichthyes: bony fishes)
2. (in combination): fishpond
   Related adjective(s): piscine
3. any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey
4. (not in technical use) any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish
5. the flesh of fish used as food
6. a person of little emotion or intelligence: a poor fish
7. short for fishplate
8. Also called: tin fish
   an informal word for torpedo1
9. a fine kettle of fish ⇒ an awkward situation; mess
10. drink like a fish ⇒ to drink (esp alcohol) to excess
11. have other fish to fry ⇒ to have other activities to do, esp more important ones
12. like a fish out of water ⇒ out of one's usual place
13. make fish of one and flesh of another ⇒ to discriminate unfairly between people
14. neither fish, flesh, nor fowl ⇒ neither this nor that

verb

1. (intransitive) to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc
2. (transitive) to fish in (a particular area of water)
3. to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water
4. (intransitive) followed by for: to seek something indirectly: to fish for compliments

Etymology: Old English fisc; related to Old Norse fiskr, Gothic fiscs, Russian piskar, Latin piscis

ˈfishˌlike adjective