fish for

1. Search for something, as in I've fished for it in all the drawers . [First half of 1700s]

2. Try to obtain something through artifice or indirectly. For example, He was always fishing for compliments , or, as William Makepeace Thackeray put it in Vanity Fair (1848): “The first woman who fishes for him, hooks him.” [Mid-1500s]

Example Sentences

In a school of fish, for example, a few individuals might notice a predator and change their behavior, “and then suddenly, there’s this really fast transition where the whole network reacts.”

From Science Magazine

New research, recently published in the journal Marine Policy, documents changes in the catches of small-scale fisheries, highlighting a significant decline not only in volume of catches, but also in the size of fish for key local species.

From Science Daily

She was the first person to witness and document chimpanzees making and using tools – the primates prepared sticks to fish for termites.

From BBC

The first phase will be big enough to serve 1,600 people at a time with live and fresh fish for sale.

From Los Angeles Times

What had been a trash fish for the better part of the 20th century could suddenly transform into one of the most sought-after ingredients through the innovation of this one individual at Japan Airlines.

From Los Angeles Times