fetch 1
— fetcher , n.
/fech/ , v.t.
1. to go and bring back; return with; get: to go up a hill to fetch a pail of water.
2. to cause to come; bring: to fetch a doctor.
3. to sell for or bring (a price, financial return, etc.): The horse fetched $50 more than it cost.
4. Informal. to charm; captivate: Her beauty fetched the coldest hearts.
5. to take (a breath).
6. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc.).
7. to deal or deliver (a stroke, blow, etc.).
8. to perform or execute (a movement, step, leap, etc.).
9. Chiefly Naut. and Brit. Dial. to reach; arrive at: to fetch port.
10. Hunting. (of a dog) to retrieve (game).
v.i.
11. to go and bring things.
12. Chiefly Naut. to move or maneuver.
13. Hunting. to retrieve game (often used as a command to a dog).
14. to go by an indirect route; circle (often fol. by around or about ): We fetched around through the outer suburbs.
15. fetch about , Naut. (of a sailing vessel) to come onto a new tack.
16. fetch and carry , to perform menial tasks.
17. fetch up ,
a. Informal. to arrive or stop.
b. Older Use. to raise (children); bring up: She had to fetch up her younger sisters.
c. Naut. (of a vessel) to come to a halt, as by lowering an anchor or running aground; bring up.
n.
18. the act of fetching.
19. the distance of fetching: a long fetch.
20. Oceanog.
a. an area where ocean waves are being generated by the wind.
b. the length of such an area.
21. the reach or stretch of a thing.
22. a trick; dodge.
[ bef. 1000; ME fecchen, OE fecc ( e ) an, var. of fetian to fetch (cf. ME feten, fetten, Brit. dial. fet; akin to OE -fat in sithfat journey, G fassen to grasp) ]
Syn. 1. See bring .
fetch 2
/fech/ , n.
wraith (def. 1).
[ 1780-90; perh. short for fetch-life one sent to fetch the soul of a dying person ]