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fish

/fɪʃ/
noun, verb★Beginner— aquatic animal
neutral

A cold-blooded aquatic animal with gills, fins, and typically scales.

The aquarium has many colorful fish swimming in it.

The container holds many bright aquatic animals.

💡

Plural can be 'fish' or 'fishes' (the latter used for distinct species).

neutral

The flesh of fish used as food.

We had fish for dinner last night.

The meal included the flesh of aquatic animals.

💡

Common in culinary contexts.

neutral

To try to catch fish.

They go fishing every weekend.

They attempt to catch aquatic animals regularly.

💡

Often used with 'for' (e.g., 'fish for trout').

Collocations

fish tanka container for keeping live fishfishing rodequipment used to catch fishraw fishuncooked fish, often used in sushi

Synonyms

seafoodaquatic creature

Antonyms

plantmammal

Related Phrases

like a fish out of wateridiom
feeling uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation
fishymetaphor
suspicious or questionable

💡Pro Tip

Plural Forms

Use 'fish' for multiple individuals of the same species (e.g., 'three goldfish'). Use 'fishes' for multiple species (e.g., 'trout and salmon are different fishes').

⚡Gold Rule

Countability

In culinary contexts, 'fish' is uncountable (e.g., 'I bought fish for dinner'). In biological contexts, it is countable (e.g., 'There are many fish in the sea').

📖Word Origin

Old English 'fisc', from Proto-Germanic '*fiskaz', related to Old Norse 'fiskr', Latin 'piscis', and Greek 'ikhthys'. The verb sense derives from the noun.

📝Usage Notes

The word is both singular and plural in some contexts ('I have two fish'), but 'fishes' is used for multiple species. In cooking, 'fish' is uncountable ('a piece of fish').

Word Breakdown

fish
aquatic animal
root
English Dictionary

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