The Plural of Fish: Here’s What It Is and How to Use It

If you have ever wondered what the plural form of fish is and also are curious about more about the word fish, look no further. This article will not only cover the plural noun form but also cover the definition of fish, the history and origin of the word, how to use it correctly, synonyms, and examples of the word in context to help you fully understand the word.

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What Is The Definition Of The Word Curriculum

As Merriam-Webster phrases it:

  • Noun
  • An aquatic animal – usually used in combination
    • Starfish
    • Cuttlefish
  • Any of numerous cold-blooded strictly aquatic craniate vertebrates that include the boy fishes and usually the cartilaginous and jawless fishes and that typically an elongated somewhat spindle-shaped body terminating in a broad caudal fin, limbs in the form of fins when present at all, and a 2-chambered heart by which blood is sent through thoracic gills to be oxygenated
  • The flesh of fish used as food 
    • We’re having fish for dinner 
  • A person who is caught or is wanted (as in a criminal investigation)
  • Fellow, person
    • An odd fish
  • Sucker
    • Felt sorry for the poor fish
  • Something that resembles a fish: such as 
    • Fish
    • Torpedo
    • The submarine’s fish hit the freighter
  • Fish out of water 
    • A person who is an unnatural or uncomfortable sphere or situation 
    • The country boy felt like a fish out of water in the big city
    • Fish to fry
    • Concerns or interests to pursue – usually used with other
    • Can’t deal with that problem now; we’ve got other fish to fry right now
    • Neither fish nor fowl
    • One that does not belong to a particular class or category
    • The movie is neither fish nor fowl – it’s not really a comedy, but it’s too light-hearted to be called a drama.
    • Verb
    • To attempt to catch fish
    • To seek something by roundabout means
    • Fishing for a compliment 
    • Fish for pearls
    • To engage in a search by groping or feeling
    • Fishing around in her purse for her keys

History And Origin Of The Word

If we look back to the Latin root of the word fish, you might not see much resemblance. Fish in Latin is piscis, however, when switching from the p to f while going from Latin to Germanic languages, it becomes more apparent. In German fish is Fisch and in Swedish fish is Fisk, so landing on fish for English should make a lot more sense.

What Is The Correct Plural Of Fish?

Fish is a word that is the same for both the plural and singular form. If you are referring to one fish, two, or ninety-nine fish you leave the word alone in the English language. Although we tend to want to add extra letters to words to make them in common plural form, there are more words than you probably realize in the English language that are the same for their regular plural or singular form.

Can You Say 2 Fishes?

So if there isn’t a plural form for an individual fish, why is it that you have probably heard people say fishes, perhaps you have even seen it used in your biology textbook. It is correct to assume that you would be wrong to use fishes to refer to two or more undetermined number of fish, however, fishes is also a word. Fishes is the correct way of referring to two or more different species of fish or different kinds of fish. You can also add an apostrophe (fish’s) to describe something about a particular fish.  

Synonyms

  • Angle – shape formed by two lines meeting at a point
  • Bait – something for luring
  • Bob – bounce up and down
  • Cast – a throw to the side
  • Chum – friend
  • Extract – physically remove, draw out
  • Extricate – get out of a situation; relieve of responsibility
  • Find – catch sight of, lay hands-on
  • Net – capture
  • Trawl – fish with a trawl net

Examples Of The Word In Context

  • Not only are the fish in these waters healthy, but they are big. There are currently 112 state records of fish (The types of fish: trout, catfish, salmon, tuna, sturgeon), crustaceans (crab and lobster), and mollusks (abalone). – USA Today
  • A fisherman reeling in a 450-pound Goliath grouper was suddenly pulled over the boat’s side, and in the process of holding on, he lost the fishing rod to the fish in a wild episode aptly called the “unforgettable fishing miracle,” as you’ll soon see why. – USA Today
  • “I couldn’t get a good shot – just fish silhouettes,” said Dr. Karen Osborn from the Smithsonian Institution. – BBC
  • A flying fishy not only has to protect themselves, but also a thousand of their eggs. Also, the male weedy sea dragon must take the female’s eggs to look after. – BBC
  • To ensure no one is buying plastic-laden fish, geolocation information will show the catch was far from populated coastlines, and inspection certifications can be uploaded to demonstrate that the product passed quality checks. – BBC
  • “Simply put, we are running out of fish,” says Daniel Pauly an ichthyologist, and a professor of fisheries at the Institute of Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia. “And the situation, the trend line, is getting worse every year.” – BBC
  • Every year since 1991 Fish Factor has selected “picks and pans” for Alaska’s seafood industry — a no-holds-barred look back at some of the year’s best and worst fishing highlights — and my choice for the biggest fish story of the year.  – Anchorage Daily News
  • Further, a team of U.S. researchers has found that exposure to oil impacts the developing hearts of larger predator fish, including tuna—which are plentiful in Mauritian waters—and also causes jaw defects, small eyes and other malformations. – Scientific American
  • The post-Civil War period spawned hunting excursions as a pastime for the well-to-do. Groups chartered railroad cars to travel to the Big Lake area for extended hunts in a time when there were no regulations, state or federal, on the taking of wild game. The trains that took out timber also provided transportation for the products of the market hunters–deer, ducks, and fish. – Arkansas Online