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to fish

to fish

194 1.0
To catch fish for sport or food
  • verb
  • /fɪʃ/
: pescar
  • In 1992, only one vessel fished for hagfish off Canada, and there was only one buyer.
  • catch fish
  • fish for tuna
  • fish for shrimp

And ourselves, we'd rather teach people to fish rather than give people fish.

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Examples

  • We just fished this out of the river.

  • You go down there and you fish among those stumps down by the point.

  • We got to be able to fish this in here.

  • We're talking to people that have got to fish this thing out of the sea.

  • Now, we can fish for ourselves.

  • I fish in the neighborhood all the time.

  • Indeed, if we did not fish regularly, we did not always have enough to eat.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • In the 1980s, about 12 of these boats fished in the bay regularly.

    Academic text (1990)
  • We'd started out the day expecting to fish for a great gamefish, the chinook salmon.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • After buying a new fishing rod, he plans to fish at the lake every weekend.

Synonyms

to shrimp
vsto fish
6 5.3

To catch small sea animals with a long body for food, often from a boat

is broader, covering shellfish and other aquatic creatures
to shark
vsto fish
1 9.3

To hunt large sea fish with sharp teeth for a living

is general capturing or trying to capture aquatic animals not only predators
to fly-fish
vsto fish
1 6.1

To fish with small fake flies using a special rod

is broader and not limited to that specific lure technique
to net fish
vsto fish
1 2.8

To catch fish with a net

is general catching of aquatic animals without limiting the method
to gillnetting
vsto fish
  • Specialized
8.2

To catch fish using nets that trap them by their gills

is general catching rather than this technical trapping method

Antonyms

∞ 1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

Idioms

12 6.5

To have more important things to do than this matter

cold fish
  • Offensive
6 7.6

A person who is distant and not friendly

kettle of fish
  • Informal
4 8.6

A difficult situation that causes trouble

2 8.8

Choose to act now or step aside so someone else can

2 5.5

An important person in a small group who has more power than elsewhere

2 7.1

To have more important things to do now

1 7.7

A situation very different from the one just mentioned

1 8.1

Not clearly one thing or another so people cannot decide what it is

To say that something is completely unnecessary

what the fish
  • Informal
1 9.9

An informal phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief

People like different things

A funny way to say goodbye when leaving a group

Phrasal Verbs

1 2.8

To catch fish with a net

Compounds

33 1.0

A large sea fish that people often eat fresh, grilled or canned

big fish
  • Informal
29 3.6

An important person in a group or organization who has power

26 1.5

A glass box that holds water for keeping live fish

23 1.0

A long thin piece of fish covered in breadcrumbs and fried or baked

12 1.0

A hot meal of fried fish and potatoes often sold to take away

12 2.7

A liquid from oily fish that people take as a health supplement

fish fry
  • Informal
9 2.8

A meal where people eat fried fish together, often outdoors

8 2.7

A place where people raise fish in tanks or ponds for food

7 3.0

A simple card game for two or more players where they ask for cards to make sets of four

6 9.3

A traditional Jewish dish of cooked balls made from ground fish mixed with eggs and breadcrumbs

4 3.8

A tropical sea fish with large fins that glides above water

A water animal that lives in rivers or lakes and people eat

3 2.0

A slice of fish without bones cut lengthwise for cooking

3 2.0

A small fried patty made from flaked fish mixed with potatoes

3 2.8

A small fake bait made of plastic or metal to attract fish

3 4.6

A situation where many people watch you and you have no privacy

3 1.1

A small flat piece on a fish's body that protects its skin

2 1.4

A clear round container to keep small pet fish

2 4.5

A small table knife with a wide flat blade used for eating fish

2 1.0

A long thin piece of fish covered in breadcrumbs and fried or baked

2 1.1

A dish of fish cooked slowly in liquid with vegetables and spices

game fish
  • Specialized
2 5.0

A fish that people catch for sport, not for food or money

A US government agency that protects wild animals, fish, and their habitats

Meat from fish that live in the sea and people eat

fish meal
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A ground, dried fish product used as fertilizer or animal feed

sport fish
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A fish people catch for fun because it fights when hooked

1 3.7

A small bright freshwater fish often kept in aquariums

1 8.6

A small insect near water whose young are used for fishing bait

1 6.7

A small bright tropical fish that lives among the stinging arms of sea anemones

A sea fish with a pointed body and spines that give a painful sting

1 2.1

A fish that people catch or farm to eat

bony fish
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A fish with a skeleton made mainly of bone, like a salmon or goldfish

1 3.4

A small shelter people use for ice fishing on a frozen lake

A small colorful tropical sea fish with a flat body and wide fins, often near coral reefs

loose fish
  • Informal
1 9.9

A person who feels out of place in a group

1 1.0

A salad made from canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise and chopped vegetables like celery or onion

1 3.9

A large bird that catches fish and often builds big nests near water

1 2.7

A thick soup made with fish, potatoes, and milk or cream

fish ladder
  • Specialized
1 5.0

A set of pools and steps that help fish swim past a dam

razor fish
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small colorful fish with a thin body and sharp head that lives near coral reefs

fish louse
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A small animal that lives on fish and eats their blood or skin

1 7.4

A deep sea fish with a large mouth and a glowing lure on its head to attract prey

1 4.9

A large hawk that catches fish, for example an osprey

A United States government agency that protects wild animals, plants and their homes

worm fish
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small, long tropical fish that lives in shallow water and hides in seagrass

1 4.6

A fish that lives near the sea floor, like cod or haddock

1 6.7

A small to medium fish that lives in shallow water near Pacific coast beaches in North America

teleost fish
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A bony fish with a jaw that can move and a symmetrical tail, like salmon or goldfish

1 2.4

A restaurant that serves mostly cooked fish and seafood

queer fish
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who seems strange to other people

fish doctor
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A brightly colored fish with no scales that lives in cold northern waters

1 5.6

A baked loaf of fish mixed with breadcrumbs and seasonings

cichlid fish
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A colorful freshwater fish from warm regions that people often keep in fish tanks

1 1.9

A thick slice of a large fish cut across the body to cook and eat

1 2.6

A small round piece of fish cooked and eaten as a snack or in soup

cartilaginous fish
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A fish whose skeleton is made of soft cartilage not bone

1 9.9

A small fish that lives among oysters and shells in shallow sea water

rough fish
  • Jargon
1 8.1

A fish people do not want to eat, catch, or use as bait

A small, oddly shaped fish that lives among floating brown seaweed

1 3.0

A building where people clean, prepare, store, or sell fish

lobe-finned fish
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fish with thick, fleshy fins that look like small limbs, including living and fossil kinds

Small fish with a glowing light under its eye

A large tropical fish with bold dark stripes that lives near coasts and reefs and is often caught for food

1 9.5

A large bright fish with spiny fins that lives on coral reefs in warm seas

1 6.5

A light creamy dish that blends cooked fish with cream and eggs, often served as a starter

croaker fish
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A fish that lives near the shore and makes a croaking sound

fish glue
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A sticky glue made by boiling fish skins and bones for woodworking and bookbinding

odd fish
  • Informal
1 8.2

A person who behaves in a strange or unusual way

A fish that lives near the bottom of lakes, rivers, or the sea

A fatty oil from fish livers used to give vitamins A and D

1 8.9

A large fresh water fish with a mouth like a sucker from the Mississippi valley

fish brain
  • Offensive
1 9.0

A person who often forgets things and is not careful

jawless fish
  • Specialized
1 7.0

Fish like lampreys and hagfish that do not have jaws or paired fins

How Thoroughly

to trawl
  • Specialized
2 5.3
to net
8 3.6
drag
16 2.3
to fish
194 1.0
to angle
1 8.3

Surface Forms

fish infinitive
fished past
fished past participle
fishing present participle
fishes third person singular

Etymology

Fish comes from an old German word fisc meaning 'fish', and people long ago used the same word as a verb—so to fish is simply to 'catch' or try to catch fish, just like a fisherman does.