fish for

verb

fished for; fishing for; fishes for
Synonyms of fish fornext
: to ask for or try to get (something, such as praise or attention) in an indirect way
I think he offers apologies for his cooking as a way of fishing for compliments.
fishing for answers

Examples of fish for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Back in the Bering Sea, Captain Blake kept fishing for pollock. — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 The focus on recent decades raises a variety of questions about the deeper history of fishing for tuna prior to the past century. — Torben Rick, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026 The series also features rare live footage of chimpanzees using rudimentary tools (twigs or branches) to fish for algae at the bottom of a pond (see top video). — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 4 Oct. 2026 Anything that could interfere with the ability of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to manage our animal populations risks the future of hunting and fishing for everyone else. — The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fish for

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Cite this Entry

“Fish for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fish%20for. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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