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fetching - 4 dictionary results

fetch⋅ing

  [fech-ing]
Use fetching in a Sentence
–adjective
charming; captivating.
Origin:
1875–80; fetch + -ing 2

Related forms:
fetch⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

fetch

1  [fech]
–verb (used with object)
1. to go and bring back; return with; get: to go up a hill to fetch a pail of water.
2. to cause to come; bring: to fetch a doctor.
3. to sell for or bring (a price, financial return, etc.): The horse fetched $50 more than it cost.
4. Informal. to charm; captivate: Her beauty fetched the coldest hearts.
5. to take (a breath).
6. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc.).
7. to deal or deliver (a stroke, blow, etc.).
8. to perform or execute (a movement, step, leap, etc.).
9. Chiefly Nautical and British Dialect. to reach; arrive at: to fetch port.
10. Hunting. (of a dog) to retrieve (game).
–verb (used without object)
11. to go and bring things.
12. Chiefly Nautical. to move or maneuver.
13. Hunting. to retrieve game (often used as a command to a dog).
14. to go by an indirect route; circle (often fol. by around or about): We fetched around through the outer suburbs.
–noun
15. the act of fetching.
16. the distance of fetching: a long fetch.
17. Oceanography.
a. an area where ocean waves are being generated by the wind.
b. the length of such an area.
18. the reach or stretch of a thing.
19. a trick; dodge.
—Verb phrases
20. fetch about, Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to come onto a new tack.
21. fetch up,
a. Informal. to arrive or stop.
b. Older Use. to raise (children); bring up: She had to fetch up her younger sisters.
c. Nautical. (of a vessel) to come to a halt, as by lowering an anchor or running aground; bring up.
—Idiom
22. fetch and carry, to perform menial tasks.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME fecchen, OE fecc(e)an, var. of fetian to fetch (cf. ME feten, fetten, Brit. dial. fet; akin to OE -fat in sīthfat journey, G fassen to grasp)

Related forms:
fetcher, noun

Synonyms:
1. See bring.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fetching
fetch 1   (fěch)   
v.   fetched, fetch·ing, fetch·es

v.   tr.
  1. To come or go after and take or bring back: The puppy fetched the stick that we had tossed.
    1. To cause to come.
    2. To bring in as a price: fetched a thousand dollars at auction.
    3. To interest or attract.
    4. To draw in (breath); inhale.
    5. To bring forth (a sigh, for example) with obvious effort.
    1. To draw in (breath); inhale.
    2. To bring forth (a sigh, for example) with obvious effort.
  4. Informal To deliver (a blow) by striking; deal.
  5. Nautical To arrive at; reach: fetched port after a month at sea.
v.   intr.
    1. To go after something and return with it.
    2. To retrieve killed game. Used of a hunting dog.
    3. To hold a course.
    4. To turn about; veer.
  2. To take an indirect route.
  3. Nautical
    1. To hold a course.
    2. To turn about; veer.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of fetching.
  2. A stratagem or trick.
    1. The distance over which a wind blows.
    2. The distance traveled by waves with no obstruction.
Phrasal Verb(s):
fetch up
  1. To reach a stopping place or goal; end up: "He went down and out at the same time and fetched up on his back clear in the middle of the room" (Madison Smart Bell).
  2. To make up (lost time, for example).
  3. To bring forth; produce.
  4. To bring to a halt; stop.

[Middle English fecchen, from Old English feccean; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
fetch'er n.
fetch·ing   (fěch'ĭng)   
adj.  Very attractive; charming: a fetching new hairstyle.
fetch'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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