fetch
1 (fĕch)
[Middle English fecchen, from Old English feccean.]
verb: fetched, fetch·ing, fetch·es.
transitive verb
- To come or go after and take or bring back: The puppy fetched the stick that we had tossed.
- To cause to come.
- To bring in as a price: fetched a thousand dollars at auction.
- To interest or attract.
- To draw in (breath); inhale.
- To bring forth (a sigh, for example) with obvious effort.
- Informal To deliver (a blow) by striking; deal.
- Nautical To arrive at; reach: fetched port after a month at sea.
intransitive verb
- To go after something and return with it.
- To retrieve killed game. Used of a hunting dog.
- To take an indirect route.
- Nautical
- To hold a course.
- To turn about; veer.
noun
- The act or an instance of fetching.
- A stratagem or trick.
- The distance over which a wind blows.
- The distance traveled by waves with no obstruction.
phrasal verbs
- fetch up
- To reach a stopping place or goal; end up: “He went down and out at the same time and fetched up on his back clear in the middle of the room” (Madison Smart Bell)
- To make up (lost time, for example).
- To bring forth; produce.
- To bring to a halt; stop.
derivatives
- fetch́er
- noun
fetch
2 (fĕch)
[Origin unknown.]
noun
Chiefly British- A ghost; an apparition.
- A doppelgänger.
