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fish
1[fish]
noun
plural
fish ,plural
fishes .any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
(loosely) any of various aquatic animals.
the flesh of fishes used as food.
Astronomy, Astrology.Fishes, 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.
a high school or college freshman; frosh.
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 orout ).
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 phrase
to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.
Fish
2[fish]
noun
Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.
FISH
1/ ɪʃ /
acronym
fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities
fish
2/ ɪʃ /
noun
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
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
informala person of little emotion or intelligence
a poor fish
short for fishplate
Also called: tin fish.an informal word for torpedo
an awkward situation; mess
to drink (esp alcohol) to excess
to have other activities to do, esp more important ones
out of one's usual place
to discriminate unfairly between people
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
to seek something indirectly
to fish for compliments
fish
plural
fishAny 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.
Other 51Թ Forms
- fishless adjective
- fishlike adjective
- outfish verb (used with object)
- unfished adjective
- ˈھ adjective
- ˈھˌ adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of fish1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of fish1
Idioms and Phrases
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.
other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention.
When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.
drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess.
Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.
fish out of water, a person out of their 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.
Example Sentences
The tribe plans projects to create healthier stream habitats for fish, and to restore meadows and prairies.
Sir David Attenborough said ahead of the conference that he was "appalled" by the damage from certain fishing methods and hoped leaders attending would "realise how much the oceans matter to all of us".
In 2021 a Dutch court ordered Shell to compensate farmers for spills that contaminated swathes of farmland and fishing waters in the Niger Delta.
His passion is fishing — Bagby dreams of reeling in a deep-sea marlin — but no hobby can nourish his soul as much as helping others.
"I've lived here for almost 45 years and never had any problems until construction started on the Heads of the Valleys," said the 79-year-old former fish and chip van owner.
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When To Use
Fish, appearing especially in the phrase fresh fish, is prison slang for new, first-time inmates, usually considered naive and vulnerable.Fish, often appearing in the form of fishy or the phrase serving fish, is also slang in drag culture for a very feminine drag queen.Content warning: this article contains references to sexual and sexist content.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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