fish

¹

[ fish ]

noun

, plural (especially collectively) fish, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) fish·es.

1. any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.
2. (loosely) any of various aquatic animals.
3. the flesh of fishes used as food.
4. Fishes, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Pisces.
5. Informal. a person:

   an odd fish; a poor fish.

6. a long strip of wood, iron, etc., used to strengthen a mast, joint, etc.
7. Cards Slang. an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited.
8. Slang. a dollar:

   He sold the car for 500 fish.

9. Slang.
   1. a new prison inmate.
   2. a high school or college freshman; frosh.

verb (used with object)

1. to catch or attempt to catch (any species of fish or the like).
2. to try to catch fish in (a stream, lake, etc.):

   Let's fish the creek.

3. to draw, as by fishing (often followed by up or out ):

   He fished a coin out of his pocket for the boy.

4. to search through, as by fishing.
5. Nautical.
   1. to secure (an anchor) by raising the flukes.
   2. to reinforce (a mast or other spar) by fastening a spar, batten, metal bar, or the like, lengthwise over a weak place.

verb (used without object)

1. to catch or attempt to catch fish, as by angling or drawing a net.
2. to search carefully:

   He fished through all his pockets but his wallet was gone.

3. to seek to obtain something indirectly or by artifice:

   to fish for compliments; to fish for information.

4. to search for or attempt to catch onto something under water, in mud, etc., by the use of a dredge, rake, hook, or the like.
5. to attempt to recover detached tools or other loose objects from an oil or gas well.

verb phrase

1. to deplete (a lake, stream, etc.) of fish by fishing.

Fish

²

[ fish ]

noun

1. Hamilton, 1808–93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869–77.

FISH

¹

/ fɪʃ /

acronym for

1. fluorescence in situ hybridization, a technique for detecting and locating gene mutations and chromosome abnormalities

fish

²

/ fɪʃ /

noun

1. 1. any of a large group of cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates having jaws, gills, and usually fins and a skin covered in scales: includes the sharks and rays (class Chondrichthyes : cartilaginous fishes ) and the teleosts, lungfish, etc (class Osteichthyes : bony fishes )
   2. ( in combination ) ichthyicichthyoidpiscine

      fishpond

2. any of various similar but jawless vertebrates, such as the hagfish and lamprey
3. not in technical use any of various aquatic invertebrates, such as the cuttlefish, jellyfish, and crayfish
4. the flesh of fish used as food
5. informal.
   a person of little emotion or intelligence

   a poor fish

6. short for fishplate
7. Also calledtin fish an informal word for torpedo
8. a fine kettle of fish
   an awkward situation; mess
9. drink like a fish
   to drink (esp alcohol) to excess
10. have other fish to fry
    to have other activities to do, esp more important ones
11. like a fish out of water
    out of one's usual place
12. make fish of one and flesh of another
    to discriminate unfairly between people
13. neither fish, flesh, nor fowl
    neither this nor that

verb

1. intr to attempt to catch fish, as with a line and hook or with nets, traps, etc
2. tr to fish in (a particular area of water)
3. to search (a body of water) for something or to search for something, esp in a body of water
4. intrfoll byfor to seek something indirectly

   to fish for compliments

fish

/ fĭsh /

, Plural fish

1. Any of numerous cold-blooded vertebrate animals that live in water. Fish have gills for obtaining oxygen, a lateral line for sensing pressure changes in the water, and a vertical tail. Most fish are covered with scales and have limbs in the form of fins. Fish were once classified together as a single group, but are now known to compose numerous evolutionarily distinct classes, including the bony fish, cartilaginous fish, jawless fish, lobe-finned fish, and placoderms .

Derived Forms

• ˈfishable, adjective
• ˈfishˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• fish·less adjective
• fish·like adjective
• out·fish verb (used with object)
• un·fished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fish¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English fis(c)h, fyssh, Old English fisc; cognate with Dutch vis, German Fisch, Old Norse fiskr, Gothic fisks; akin to Latin piscis, Irish iasc; (verb) Middle English fishen, Old English fiscian, cognate with Dutch visschen, German fischen, Old Norse fiska, Gothic fiskôn

Word History and Origins

Origin of fish¹

Old English fisc ; related to Old Norse fiskr , Gothic fiscs , Russian piskar , Latin piscis

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. drink like a fish, to drink alcoholic beverages to excess:

   Nobody invites him out because he drinks like a fish.

2. fish in troubled waters, to take advantage of troubled or uncertain conditions for personal profit.
3. fish or cut bait, to choose a definite course of action, especially to decide whether to participate in or retreat from an activity.
4. fish out of water, a person out of their proper or accustomed environment:

   He felt like a fish out of water in an academic atmosphere.

5. neither fish nor fowl, having no specific character or conviction; neither one nor the other.
6. other fish to fry, other matters requiring attention:

   When it was time to act, they had other fish to fry.

More idioms and phrases containing fish

• big fish in a small pond
• cold fish
• drink like a fish
• goldfish bowl
• kettle of fish
• like shooting fish in a barrel
• neither fish nor fowl
• not the only fish in the sea
• other fish to fry
• smell fishy

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

One difficulty stopping the boats is that it is legal to carry inflatables across Europe; they might be used for a fishing trip.

From BBC

Different species of seabirds can coexist on small, isolated islands despite eating the same kind of fish.

From Science Daily

Trump sharply reduced the boundaries of two monuments in Utah — Bear’s Ears and Grand Staircase — and stripped protections from a marine monument off the coast of New England to allow commercial fishing.

From Los Angeles Times

"The press are a different kettle of fish."

From BBC

About This Word

What else does fish mean?

Fish, appearing especially in the phrase fresh fish, is prison slang for new, first-time inmates, usually considered naive and vulnerable.

Fish, often appearing in the form of fishy or the phrase serving fish, is also slang in drag culture for a very feminine drag queen.

Content warning: this article contains references to sexual and sexist content.

Where does fish come from?

Fish has been recorded as prison slang for new inmates since the 1870s. The term apparently likens new prisoners to fish fresh out of the water. One theory about the slang’s origin claims that inmates were issued uniforms with their inmate numbers stamped with an ink that smelled fishy when wet.

Fish for new inmates shouldn’t be confused with another prison slang term, fishing. This refers to using a string to pass contraband items between cells in a manner similar to casting a fishing line.

Security update. Spot check by prison security staff found this. Did you spot it? Blue in color cable placed over the wall. Drops down into inmate holding area and being used as a 'fishing line' to move contraband. Corrective action taken. #safeprisons pic.twitter.com/islbBC3qfE

— Seychelles Prison Service (@SeychellePrison) October 29, 2018

Fish is also slang in the drag community. Alluding to popular beliefs about female genitalia, fish, here, refers to a drag queen who closely resembles a woman. Referring to a drag queen as fishy, or saying they are serving fish, is considered complimentary within the drag community, but keep in mind that such a description for women and their bodies is generally extremely offensive.

How is fish used in real life?

Both prisoners and prison staff may use fish to belittle new, first-time inmates. It has appeared in popular media, including the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, as well as in a 2005 episode of the TV show Prison Break, which contains the fan favorite line “Welcome to Prisneyland, fish.”

Once again, in drag culture, fish/fishy/serving fish are taken as compliments, but, elsewhere, likening female genitalia to a fish is offensive.

More examples of fish:

“Walking a dog down the streets of LA is like walking the new fish down a crowded row of prison cells in a movie.”
—@shelbyfero, October 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.