fresh catch

1 2.9

Seafood caught recently that is not yet cooked or preserved

noun

: pescado fresco

For dinner, we enjoyed a grilled fresh catch with a lemon butter sauce.
fresh catch of the day

Examples

We got the fresh catch today.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Got a fresh catch for ya.

The Blind (2023)
Get your fresh catch here!

CODA (2021)
Yeah, Sallie's getting the fresh catch.

One for the Money (2012)
The restaurant proudly serves the day's fresh catch from local fishermen.
You can find the fresh catch at the market every morning, straight from the ocean.

Synonyms

catch of the day

vsfresh catch

4 2.7

The freshest fish or seafood available that day, often on a restaurant menu

is a general term for recently taken fish or shellfish before preservation or cooking

fresh seafood

vsfresh catch

3 1.3

Fish and shellfish caught recently that are not frozen or salted

is used for marine animals taken recently, often before cooking or preserving

How Fresh

catch of the day

4 2.7

fresh catch

1 2.9

fresh seafood

3 1.3

Surface Forms

fresh catch singular

fresh catches plural

Morphology

fresh + catch

The meaning 'fish or seafood caught recently' is directly and compositionally derived from 'fresh' (recent, unspoiled) + 'catch' (the haul or thing caught). This adjective + noun combination follows a common and predictable pattern found across languages and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The phrase fresh catch comes from fishermen who bring a fresh catch to shore soon after catching the fish, creating the clear image of fish that are new and not preserved; because they are 'just caught', the phrase means 'fish or seafood caught recently'.