I. ˈfech verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English fecchen, from Old English feccan, fetian; akin to Old English fatian to fetch, Old High German ( sih ) vazzōn to climb, ascend, Old Norse feta to step, find one's way, Old English fōt foot — more at foot
transitive verb
1.
a. : to go after and bring back : go and get
escaped while the guard was out to fetch their supper
fetch me a drink
had to leave her alone while he fetched the doctor from town
broadly : to convey or conduct from one place to another : come and get
inside the station as I waited for my friends to fetch me — D.L.Cohn
: bring
the souvenirs he fetched back from Europe
come and fetch along your family
: take
had enough money to fetch him from New York to Philadelphia
b. now dialect : to carry off : filch
c. : to draw from an often remote source : derive , deduce
fetched his arguments from afar
fetch analogies from nature
2.
a. : to cause to come
fetch the discussion to a close
one shot fetched it down
: draw forth : elicit
the sound of the sob fetched tears to the eyes — Arnold Bennett
fetch a laugh from the audience
a scamper of feet fetched me out of my berth and up on deck — A.T.Quiller-Couch
b. : to bring as a price or similar return : sell for
the pigs fetched a good price at the market
: bring in : realize
risk capital fetches a higher interest rate
professional skill … fetches very much smaller pay in Germany — J.A.Hobson
c. : to win the interest or admiration of : attract
two of the men … were fetched by the notion of striking it rich — Newsweek
he doesn't fetch the girls like William — D.H.Lawrence
d. chiefly dialect : to revive from unconsciousness : bring around — often used with to or around
e. : to bring to agreement : convince — often used with round
his argument fetched her round
3.
a. : to give (a blow) by striking : deal
fetch him a clip on the chin
— not often in formal use
b. now chiefly dialect : to bring about (a movement or action) : perform , accomplish
I meant to go … but time was short and I didn't fetch it — O.W.Holmes †1935
specifically : to take into the lungs : draw
sat fetching her breath in dry sobs — Ngaio Marsh
c. : to bring forth (a sound or speech)
fetch a sneeze
: utter
fetch a loud whoop
: heave
fetch a sigh
d. : to make an end of (as a person) : do for : kill
got in another shot and fetched him — Bret Harte
— not often in formal use
4.
a. : to make (a point) by sailing especially despite adverse wind or tide
fetch the harbor before the storm breaks
b. : to arrive at : reach
fetched home after his long ride
5. : damn — used in an oath
dad fetch it
intransitive verb
1. : to get and bring something
the German housewife has to spend a lot of time fetching and carrying — Marieluise Capitaine
specifically : to retrieve killed game : seek — often used in the imperative as a command to a dog
2. : to take a roundabout way : circle — usually used with about, around, or round
working through the parts beyond Jago Row, he fetched round into Honey Lane — Arthur Morrison
3. of a boat : go , come
fetch about
: hold a course
fetch to windward
4. chiefly Scotland : to breathe with difficulty
she fetches and fights for breath — Robert Burns
5. dialect : to recover consciousness, health, or weight : revive — often used with up
give him another glass — then he'll fetch up — Thomas Hardy
•
- fetch about
- fetch a compass
- fetch a pump
- fetch off
II. noun
( -es )
Etymology: fetch (I)
1. : an act or instance of fetching
in the trial for two sheep dogs each must keep its own side till the fetch is finished
2. : a stratagem contrived in a farfetched, ingenious, or devious way : artifice , sophism
the mere fetch of a debater at a loss for arguments
: trick
one of the cunningest fetches of Satan that he … dodging behind this neighbor or that acquaintance compels us to wound him through them — J.R.Lowell
3. dialect England : a catch in the throat or voice ; specifically : a dying gasp
4. : the distance along open water or land over which the wind blows : sweep
wind coming from the … deserts with a clear fetch of a thousand miles — Joseph Furphy
specifically : the distance traversed by waves without obstruction (as when caused by steady winds)
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: origin unknown
1.
a. : the phantom double of a living person appearing as an omen of the death of the person : wraith
b. : something that looks or acts exactly like another : counterpart
the muddy field before them which was the exact fetch of the muddy field behind — Strand Magazine
2. : ghost , apparition
a harrowing graveyard with … a fetch — Saturday Review
IV.
variant of fitch