fetch

1 of 3

verb

ˈfech 

fetched; fetching; fetches

transitive verb

1

a

: to go or come after and bring or take back

fetch a doctor

b

: derive, deduce

fetch analogies from nature

2

a

: to cause to come

one shot fetched down

b

: to bring in (a price or similar return) : realize

The hogs fetched a good price at the market.

c

: interest, attract

… he doesn't fetch the girls like William …

—D. H. Lawrence

3

a

: to give (a blow) by striking : deal

fetch him a clip on the chin

b

chiefly dialectal : bring about, accomplish

c(1)

: to take in : draw

sat fetching her breath in dry sobs

—Ngaio Marsh

(2)

: to bring forth : heave

fetch a sigh

4

a

: to reach by sailing especially against the wind or tide

fetch the harbor before the storm breaks

b

: to arrive at : reach

fetched home after a long ride

intransitive verb

1

: to get and bring something

specifically : to retrieve killed game

2

: to take a roundabout way : circle

3

a

: to hold a course on a body of water

fetch to windward

b

: veer

fetcher noun

fetch

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: trick, stratagem

2

: an act or instance of fetching

3

a

: the distance along open water or land over which the wind blows

b

: the distance traversed by waves without obstruction

fetch

3 of 3

noun (2)

: doppelgänger sense 2

Synonyms

Verb

• bring
• cost
• go (for)
• run
• sell (for)

Noun (1)

• artifice
• device
• dodge
• flimflam
• gambit
• gimmick
• jig
• juggle
• knack
• play
• ploy
• ruse
• scheme
• shenanigan
• sleight
• stratagem
• trick
• wile

Noun (2)

• alter ego
• carbon
• carbon copy
• clone
• counterpart
• doppelgänger
• doppelganger
• double
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• image
• likeness
• look-alike
• match
• mirror image
• picture
• replica
• ringer
• spit
• spitting image
• twin

Examples of fetch in a Sentence

Verb

If you throw the ball the dog will fetch it.

Hunting dogs are trained to fetch.

This table should fetch quite a bit at auction.

The house fetched more than we expected.

Noun (1)

his latest fetch to win back his girlfriend smacks of desperation

Noun (2)

with its standard assortment of chain stores and central food court, the new mall is pretty much the fetch of 1,000 other malls

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Who's got four paws, a sunny disposition and loves fetching balls? —Yacob Reyes, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024

It will be auctioned on October 31 as part of Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale, where it’s estimated to fetch between $120,000 and $180,000. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024

Noun

Mikel Delgado, a senior research scientist at Purdue who led the study, said prior to their research, it was well established that some cats play fetch. —Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024

But both cats and dogs will carry prey items away from the kill site, which may also partially explain how a behavior such as fetch could arise. —Judith Stella, Discover Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun (1)

Middle English fecchen, from Old English fetian, feccan; perhaps akin to Old English fōt foot — more at foot

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1787, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing fetch

• fetch and carry
• fetch up

Kids Definition

fetch

verb

ˈfech

1

: to go after and bring back

2

: to cause to come : bring forth

3

: to bring as a price : sell for

fetcher noun