fish

[ fish ]

/ fɪʃ /

noun, plural (especially collectively) fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) fish·es.

any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.

(loosely) any of various other aquatic animals.

the flesh of fishes used as food.

Fishes, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Pisces.

Informal. a person: an odd fish; a poor fish.

a long strip of wood, iron, etc., used to strengthen a mast, joint, etc.

Cards Slang. an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited.

Slang. a dollar: He sold the car for 500 fish.

Slang. a new prison inmate.

verb (used with object)

to catch or attempt to catch (any species of fish or the like).

to try to catch fish in (a stream, lake, etc.): Let's fish the creek.

to draw, as by fishing (often followed by up or out): He fished a coin out of his pocket for the boy.

to search through, as by fishing.

Nautical.

to secure (an anchor) by raising the flukes.
to reinforce (a mast or other spar) by fastening a spar, batten, metal bar, or the like, lengthwise over a weak place.

verb (used without object)

to catch or attempt to catch fish, as by angling or drawing a net.

to search carefully: He fished through all his pockets but his wallet was gone.

to seek to obtain something indirectly or by artifice: to fish for compliments; to fish for information.

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.

to attempt to recover detached tools or other loose objects from an oil or gas well.

Verb Phrases

fish out, to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.

Idioms for fish

drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess: Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.

fish in troubled waters, to take advantage of troubled or uncertain conditions for personal profit.

fish or cut bait, to choose a definite course of action, especially to decide whether to participate in or retreat from an activity.

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.

neither fish nor fowl, having no specific character or conviction; neither one nor the other.

other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention: When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.

Origin of fish

before 900; (noun) 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; (v.) Middle English fishen, Old English fiscian, cognate with Dutch visschen, German fischen, Old Norse fiska, Gothic fiskôn

OTHER WORDS FROM fish

fish·less, adjective fish·like, adjective out·fish, verb (used with object) un·fished, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fish

fiche fish

Words nearby fish

fiscal year, fischer, fischer von erlach, fischer-dieskau, fischer-tropsch process, fish, fish and brewis, fish and chips, fish cake, fish crow, fish culture

Example sentences from the Web for fishes

His most famous miracle was making a few loaves and fishes feed a multitude.

Keep Christmas Commercialized! |P. J. O’Rourke |December 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Fortunately for libertarian-minded voters, Palin and Cruz are hardly the only fishes in the sea.

Nostalgia Act: The Great Sarah Palin Revival Tour of 2013 |Nick Gillespie |June 18, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
But fans say they miss them already—even if some are sleeping with the fishes.

RIP, Lever Voting Machines: Where Did Old Booths Go? |Eliza Shapiro |November 10, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Here we have the collision of The Godfather “sleep with the fishes” line with the world of underwater creatures.

The U.K.'s Innovation Dream Team |John Kao |May 14, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

I kept thinking of that line in The Godfather, “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.”

My Swim with the Great White Sharks |Anderson Cooper |March 27, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
I believe you could sell chloride of sodium to some of the fishes in the Great Salt Lake—that is if it has fishes.

Tom Swift and his Air Scout |Victor Appleton
The fishes and insects were not included in this primitive nomenclature, so the loss of the Dictionary does not concern them.

Bible Romances |George W. Foote
To the optimistic Virginia the division of the loaves and fishes of his personal gratitude was scarcely heeded.

Hepsey Burke |Frank Noyes Westcott
Some of the most common of these parasites attach themselves to the gills of fishes.

Elementary Zoology, Second Edition |Vernon L. Kellogg
Shortly after this Hiawatha set out in his canoe to catch the sturgeon Nahma, king of fishes.

The Children's Longfellow |Doris Hayman

British Dictionary definitions for fishes (1 of 3)

Fishes

/ (ˈfɪʃɪz) /

noun

the Fishes the constellation Pisces, the twelfth sign of the zodiac

British Dictionary definitions for fishes (2 of 3)

FISH

/ (fɪʃ) /

n acronym for

fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities

British Dictionary definitions for fishes (3 of 3)

fish

/ (fɪʃ) /

noun plural fish or fishes

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)
(in combination)fishpond Related adjectives: ichthyic, ichthyoid, piscine

any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey

(not in technical use) any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish

the flesh of fish used as food

informal a person of little emotion or intelligence a poor fish

short for fishplate

Also called: tin fish an informal word for torpedo (def. 1)

a fine kettle of fish an awkward situation; mess

drink like a fish to drink (esp alcohol) to excess

have other fish to fry to have other activities to do, esp more important ones

like a fish out of water out of one's usual place

make fish of one and flesh of another Irish to discriminate unfairly between people

neither fish, flesh, nor fowl neither this nor that

verb

(intr) to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc

(tr) to fish in (a particular area of water)

to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water

(intr foll by for) to seek something indirectly to fish for compliments

Derived forms of fish

fishable, adjective fishlike, adjective

Word Origin for fish

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

Scientific definitions for fishes

fish

[ fĭsh ]

Plural fish fishes

Any of numerous cold-blooded vertebrate animals that live in water. Fish have gills for obtaining oxygen, a lateral line for sensing pressure changes in the water, and a vertical tail. Most fish are covered with scales and have limbs in the form of fins. Fish were once classified together as a single group, but are now known to compose numerous evolutionarily distinct classes, including the bony fish, cartilaginous fish, jawless fish, lobe-finned fish, and placoderms.

Cultural definitions for fishes

fishes

Traditionally, a class of vertebrates that breathe with gills rather than lungs, live in water, and generally lay eggs, although some bear their young alive. Some biologists consider the fishes a “superclass,” and divide them into three classes: bony fishes, such as sunfish and cod; fishes with a skeleton formed of cartilage rather than bone, such as sharks; and fishes that lack jaws, such as lampreys.

notes for fishes

Fishes are cold-blooded animals.

Idioms and Phrases with fishes

fish

In addition to the idioms beginning with fish

fish for
fishing expedition
fish in troubled waters
fish or cut bait
fish out
fish out of water, a
fish story

also see:

big fish in a small pond
cold fish
drink like a fish
goldfish bowl
kettle of fish
like shooting fish in a barrel
neither fish nor fowl
not the only fish in the sea
other fish to fry
smell fishy

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

fish