fish
Other forms: fishing; fishes; fished
A fish is a cold-blooded aquatic vertebrate with scales and gills, like a shark, a trout, or a pike. To fish is to try to catch a fish.
Fish comes from an old German version of the Latin word for "fish," piscus, from which you might recognize the astrological sign Pisces. The word can describe either the creature or the meat from the creature. When fish is a verb, it can be used literally for the act of trying to catch a fish, or metaphorically for trying to find something, like fishing for someone's name in your memory.
Definitions of fish
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any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills“the shark is a large fish”“in the living room there was a tank of colorful fish”
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types:
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bottom-dweller, bottom-feeder
a fish that lives and feeds on the bottom of a body of water
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bottom lurkers
a fish that lurks on the bottom of a body of water
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cartilaginous fish, chondrichthian
fishes in which the skeleton may be calcified but not ossified
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fingerling
a young or small fish
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game fish, sport fish
any fish providing sport for the angler
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food fish
any fish used for food by human beings
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rough fish
any fish useless for food or sport or even as bait
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young fish
a fish that is young
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mouthbreeder
any of various fishes that carry their eggs and their young in their mouths
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spawner
a female fish at spawning time
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northern snakehead
a voracious freshwater fish that is native to northeastern China; can use fin to walk and can survive out of water for three days; a threat to American populations of fish
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bony fish
any fish of the class Osteichthyes
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A. testudineus, Anabas testudineus, climbing perch
a small perch of India whose gills are modified to allow it to breathe air; has spiny pectoral fins that enable it to travel on land
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holocephalan, holocephalian
fish with high compressed head and a body tapering off into a long tail
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elasmobranch, selachian
any of numerous fishes of the class Chondrichthyes characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton and placoid scales: sharks; rays; skates
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bottom fish, groundfish
fish that live on the sea bottom (particularly the commercially important gadoid fish like cod and haddock, or flatfish like flounder)
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parr
the young of various fishes
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barracouta, snoek
a large marine food fish common on the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa
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crossopterygian, lobe-finned fish, lobefin
any fish of the order Crossopterygii; most known only in fossil form
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lungfish
air-breathing fish having an elongated body and fleshy paired fins; certain species construct mucus-lined mud coverings in which to survive drought
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teleost, teleost fish, teleostan
a bony fish of the subclass Teleostei
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whitebait
the edible young of especially herrings and sprats and smelts
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brit, britt
the young of a herring or sprat or similar fish
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shad
herring-like food fishes that migrate from the sea to fresh water to spawn
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Clupea harangus, herring
commercially important food fish of northern waters of both Atlantic and Pacific
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sardine
any of various small edible herring or related food fishes frequently canned
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salmon
any of various large food and game fishes of northern waters; usually migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn
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parr
a young salmon up to 2 years old
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trout
any of various game and food fishes of cool fresh waters mostly smaller than typical salmons
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whitefish
silvery herring-like freshwater food fish of cold lakes of the northern hemisphere
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sea bass
any of various food and sport fishes of the Atlantic coast of the United States having an elongated body and long spiny dorsal fin
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snapper
any of several large sharp-toothed marine food and sport fishes of the family Lutjanidae of mainly tropical coastal waters
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mullet
bottom dwelling marine warm water fishes with two barbels on the chin
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tuna, tunny
any very large marine food and game fish of the genus Thunnus; related to mackerel; chiefly of warm waters
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sole
right-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European
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type of:
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aquatic vertebrate
animal living wholly or chiefly in or on water
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the flesh of fish used as food“after the scare about foot-and-mouth disease a lot of people started eating fish instead of meat”“they have a chef who specializes in fish”
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types:
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panfish
any of numerous small food fishes; especially those caught with hook and line and not available on the market
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stockfish
fish cured by being split and air-dried without salt
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anchovy
tiny fishes usually canned or salted; used for hors d'oeuvres or as seasoning in sauces
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eel
the fatty flesh of eel; an elongate fish found in fresh water in Europe and America; large eels are usually smoked or pickled
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gray mullet, grey mullet, mullet
highly valued lean flesh of marine or freshwater mullet
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alewife
flesh of shad-like fish abundant along the Atlantic coast or in coastal streams
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schrod, scrod
flesh of young Atlantic cod weighing up to 2 pounds; also young haddock and pollock; often broiled
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haddock
lean white flesh of fish similar to but smaller than cod; usually baked or poached or as fillets sauteed or fried
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hake
the lean flesh of a fish similar to cod
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trout
flesh of any of several primarily freshwater game and food fishes
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rock salmon
any of several coarse fishes (such as dogfish or wolffish) when used as food
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salmon
flesh of any of various marine or freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae
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shad
bony flesh of herring-like fish usually caught during their migration to fresh water for spawning; especially of Atlantic coast
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smelt
small cold-water silvery fish; migrate between salt and fresh water
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smoked eel
eel cured by smoking
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elver
young eel; may be sauteed or batter-fried
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finnan, finnan haddie, finnan haddock, smoked haddock
haddock usually baked but sometimes broiled with lots of butter
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rainbow trout
flesh of Pacific trout that migrate from salt to fresh water
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salmon trout, sea trout
flesh of marine trout that migrate from salt to fresh water
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Atlantic salmon
fatty pink flesh of fish from northern coastal Atlantic; usually marketed fresh
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red salmon, sockeye, sockeye salmon
fatty red flesh of salmon of Pacific coast and rivers
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chinook, chinook salmon, king salmon
pink or white flesh of large Pacific salmon
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coho, coho salmon, cohoe, silver salmon
fatty pinkish flesh of small salmon caught in the Pacific and Great Lakes
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smoked salmon
salmon cured by smoking
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kippered salmon
salted and smoked salmon
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American smelt, rainbow smelt
common smelt of eastern North America and Alaska
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European smelt, sparling
common smelt of Europe
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type of:
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food, solid food
any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment
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catch or try to catch fish or shellfish“I like to go fishing on weekends”
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types:
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crab
fish for crab
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seine
fish with a seine; catch fish with a seine
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scallop, scollop
fish for scallops
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rail
fish with a handline over the rails of a boat
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brail
haul fish aboard with brails
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angle
fish with a hook
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shrimp
fish for shrimp
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net fish
fish with nets
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shark
hunt shark
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trawl
fish with trawlers
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still-fish
fish with the line and bait resting still or stationary in the water
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prawn
fish for prawns
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fly-fish, flyfish
fish with flies as lures
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troll
angle with a hook and line drawn through the water
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type of:
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catch, grab, take hold of
take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
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seek indirectly
Pronunciation
US
/fɪʃ/
UK
/fɪʃ/
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