English Dictionary

Definition of “fetching”

fetching (ˈfɛtʃɪŋ Pronunciation for fetching

Definitions

adjective

(informal)
  1. attractively befitting ⇒ a fetching hat
  2. charming ⇒ a fetching personality

Derived Forms

ˈfetchingly adverb

fetch1 (fɛtʃ Pronunciation for fetch1

Definitions

verb

  1. to go after and bring back; get ⇒ to fetch help
  2. to cause to come; bring or draw forth ⇒ the noise fetched him from the cellar
  3. also intr to cost or sell for (a certain price) ⇒ the table fetched six hundred pounds
  4. to utter (a sigh, groan, etc)
  5. (informal) to deal (a blow, slap, etc)
  6. also intr (nautical) to arrive at or proceed by sailing
  7. (informal) to attract ⇒ to be fetched by an idea
  8. (used esp as a command to dogs) to retrieve (shot game, an object thrown, etc)
  9. (rare) to draw in (a breath, gasp, etc), esp with difficulty
  10. See fetch and carry

noun

  1. the reach, stretch, etc, of a mechanism
  2. a trick or stratagem
  3. the distance in the direction of the prevailing wind that air or water can travel continuously without obstruction

Word Origin

Old English feccan; related to Old Norse feta to step, Old High German sih fazzōn to climb

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= sell for, make, raise, earn, realize, go for, yield, bring in
= produce, give rise to, elicit, draw forth

Example Sentences Including 'fetching'

"I'm worried they look too skinny now," moans Louis, who sports a rather fetching gut himself.
Megastar (2005)
After meeting the very fetching and slightly younger Aurora, he changed colour and his eight arms became intertwined with hers.
canada.com (2004)
All of the property's flats have been sold with some penthouses fetching around £300,000.
Liverpool Daily Post and Echo (2004)
But her leg from ankle to knee, whatever she wore, remained long, slim and fetching.
Weldon, Fay Splitting
Coffee shops sell it for as little as $6 a gram, with only the highest-quality weed fetching prices comparable to the government's.
canada.com (2004)
He headed south, fetching up on Mason-MacFarlane's doorstep in Gibraltar.
Martin Allen THE HITLER-HESS DECEPTION (2003)
I was aware of her fetching another bottle, then of her rubbing something cool into my skin.
Harris, Elizabeth Time of the Wolf
My job from the outset was the fetching of water from the river in different coloured buckets.
Dexter Petley WHITE LIES (2003)
Tickets for the premiere were said to be fetching £5,000 on the black market.
Sun, News of the World (2001)

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