: any of numerous cold-blooded strictly aquatic craniate vertebrates that include the bony fishes and usually the cartilaginous and jawless fishes and that have typically an elongated somewhat spindle-shaped body terminating in a broad caudal (see caudalsense 2) fin, limbs in the form of fins when present at all, and a 2-chambered heart by which blood is sent through thoracic gills to be oxygenated
freshwater fish
tropical fish
2
: the flesh of fish used as food
We're having fish for dinner.
3
a
: a person who is caught or is wanted (as in a criminal investigation)
Noun
We're having fish for dinner.
he's rather an odd fishVerb
We spent the afternoon fishing for trout.
They fished the stream all morning.
She was fishing around in her purse for her keys.
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Noun
In 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy amid a price-fixing scandal and was acquired by Taiwanese fish conglomerate FCF Co for nearly $1 billion.—Lex Harvey, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025 Humans, other land vertebrates, and jawed fish have synovial joints.—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
Felix Studios/Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island Active guests will find plenty to busy themselves with, including opportunities to fish, kayak, paddleboard, and even scuba dive.—Jason Chau, Travel + Leisure, 9 Mar. 2025 Javier Velez was asleep inside the car while his father and brother fished nearby, according to WCAU.—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fish
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Old English fisc; akin to Old High German fisc fish, Latin piscis
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
: a water-dwelling animal—usually used in combination
starfish
cuttlefish
b
: a cold-blooded vertebrate animal with a typically long scaly tapering body, limbs developed as fins, and a vertical tail fin that lives and breathes in water
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