fishing expedition

noun

1
: a legal interrogation or examination to discover information for a later proceeding
2
: an investigation that does not stick to a stated objective but hopes to uncover incriminating or newsworthy evidence

Examples of fishing expedition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That's called a fishing expedition, and the treaties don't allow it. Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024 Rather, there are various incidents (a fishing expedition gone awry, a mysterious object appears under the sand, a storm ravages the lighthouse). Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024 And third, perhaps most importantly, the treaties don't allow for what's called a fishing expedition. Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024 Courts likely won’t indulge a legal fishing expedition Boston College Law School’s Quinn argues the Amazon rainforest analogy doesn’t constitute fraud, so long as Altman wasn’t actively shopping for chainsaws at the time. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fishing expedition 

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fishing expedition was in 1874

Dictionary Entries Near fishing expedition

Cite this Entry

“Fishing expedition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fishing%20expedition. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Legal Definition

fishing expedition

noun
fish·​ing ex·​pe·​di·​tion
-ˌek-spə-ˈdi-shən
1
: an inquiry (as by the use of discovery) that is unnecessarily extensive or unrelated to the lawsuit
2
: an investigation that does not stick to a stated objective but hopes to uncover incriminating or newsworthy evidence
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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