fish

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noun

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.

Relevant Questions

verb (used with object)

10.

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

11.

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

12.

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

13.

to search through, as by fishing.

14.

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.

00:10

Fish is one of our favorite verbs.

So is kibitz. Does it mean:

chat, to converse

to flee; abscond:

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used without object)

15.

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

16.

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

17.

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

18.

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.

19.

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

Verb phrases

20.

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

Idioms

21.

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

22.

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

23.

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

24.

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.

25.

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

26.

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

Origin:
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

Related forms

fish·less, adjective

fish·like, adjective

out·fish, verb (used with object)

un·fished, adjective

Can be confused: fiche, fish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To fish

Collins

World English Dictionary

fish (fɪʃ)

—n , pl fish, fishes
1.	a. 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)
	b. (in combination): fishpond Related: ichthyic, ichthyoid, piscine
2.	any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey
3.	(not in technical use) any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish
4.	the flesh of fish used as food
5.	informal a person of little emotion or intelligence: a poor fish
6.	short for fishplate
7.	an informal word for torpedo Also called: tin fish
8.	a fine kettle of fish an awkward situation; mess
9.	drink like a fish to drink (esp alcohol) to excess
10.	have other fish to fry to have other activities to do, esp more important ones
11.	like a fish out of water out of one's usual place
12.	(Irish) make fish of one and flesh of another to discriminate unfairly between people
13.	neither fish, flesh, nor fowl neither this nor that

—vb (foll by for)
14.	(intr) to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc
15.	(tr) to fish in (a particular area of water)
16.	to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water
17.	to seek something indirectly: to fish for compliments

Related: ichthyic, ichthyoid, piscine

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

'fishable

—*adj*

'fishlike

—*adj*

FISH (fɪʃ)

—*n acronym for*
	fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

fish

O.E. fisc, from P.Gmc. *fiskaz (cf. O.H.G. fisc, O.N. fiskr, Du. vis, Ger. Fisch, Goth. fisks), from PIE *piskos (cf. L. piscis). The verb is O.E. fiscian.

"Of all diversions ... fishing is the worst qualified to amuse a man who is at once indolent and impatient." [Scott, 1814]

Fish story attested from 1819, from the tendency to exaggerate the size of the catch (or the one that got away). Fishtail (v.), of vehicles, first recorded 1927. Figurative sense of fish out of water first recorded 1610s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

fish

(fĭsh) Pronunciation Key

(click for larger image in new window)

Plural fish or 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

fish definition

n.
a stupid and inept person. (Derogatory.) : The guy's a fish. He can't do anything right.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

fish definition

(Adelaide University, Australia) 1. Another metasyntactic variable. See foo. Derived originally from the Monty Python skit in the middle of "The Meaning of Life" entitled "Find the Fish".
2. microfiche. A microfiche file cabinet may be referred to as a "fish tank".
[Jargon File]
(1994-12-01)

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

FISH
first in, still here

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Fish definition

called _dag_ by the Hebrews, a word denoting great fecundity (Gen. 9:2; Num. 11:22; Jonah 2:1, 10). No fish is mentioned by name either in the Old or in the New Testament. Fish abounded in the Mediterranean and in the lakes of the Jordan, so that the Hebrews were no doubt acquainted with many species. Two of the villages on the shores of the Sea of Galilee derived their names from their fisheries, Bethsaida (the "house of fish") on the east and on the west. There is probably no other sheet of water in the world of equal dimensions that contains such a variety and profusion of fish. About thirty-seven different kinds have been found. Some of the fishes are of a European type, such as the roach, the barbel, and the blenny; others are markedly African and tropical, such as the eel-like silurus. There was a regular fish-market apparently in Jerusalem (2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 3:3; 12:39; Zeph. 1:10), as there was a fish-gate which was probably contiguous to it. Sidon is the oldest fishing establishment known in history.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

fish

In addition to the idioms beginning with fish, 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.