Fish vs. Fishes — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on November 2, 2023
"Fish" refers to one species or multiple individuals of the same species; "fishes" refers to multiple species collectively.
Difference Between Fish and Fishes
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Key Differences
Fish as a term is widely used both as singular and plural to describe one type or multiple individuals of the same species living in water. For example, after a day of fishing, one might say, "I caught ten fish today," even if all ten were trout. On the other hand, fishes are used when referring to individuals from multiple species of fish. A marine biologist might say, "There are over 30,000 known species of fishes."
While fish serves as a non-count noun that does not change in the plural form for multiple individuals of the same species, fishes highlight the diversity and can act as a plural count noun. When an aquarium says it houses 500 fish, it means 500 individual fish, possibly of the same species. But if it boasts of having 500 fishes, it implies a variety of species.
Fish can also be used as a verb, meaning the activity of catching fish. For example, "They love to fish at the lake." In this usage, there is no corresponding verb form for fishes. Fishes, however, does not function as a verb but is purely a plural noun indicating variety.
In some religious or historical texts, fish is used to symbolize a multitude without regard to species, as in the biblical loaves and fishes. In scientific contexts, though, the distinction between fish and fishes becomes important to indicate biodiversity, as scientists meticulously differentiate between multiple species (fishes) within the broader category of aquatic life.
Grammatically, fish is an exception to the typical rule of adding -es to nouns ending in -sh to form plurals. Instead, it remains unchanged when referring to a group of the same species, whereas fishes adhere to the rule when denoting multiple species.
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Comparison Chart
Number
Singular or plural for same species
Plural for multiple species
Usage
Both singular & plural
Strictly plural
Context
General and scientific
Primarily scientific
Verb Form
"To fish" as an activity
No verb form
Example
"I caught two fish."
"We studied various fishes."
Compare with Definitions
Fish
A person who is easily duped. (Slang)
The con artist found an easy fish in the tourist.
Fishes
Collective term for several species used in a taxonomic sense.
The museum's exhibit on fishes is very informative.
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups.
Fishes
Different kinds of fish in a general context.
The fishes of the Pacific are more diverse than those of the Atlantic.
Fish
A limbless cold-blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins living wholly in water
The huge lakes are now devoid of fish
Fishes
Used in scientific classification.
His thesis cataloged the fishes of the Amazon Basin.
Fish
A person who is strange in a specified way
He is generally thought to be a bit of a cold fish
Fishes
Plural form denoting multiple species of fish.
The biologist specializes in the study of freshwater fishes.
Fish
A flat plate that is fixed on a beam or across a joint in order to give additional strength.
Fishes
Diverse fish species in a particular habitat.
The coral reef is home to many colorful fishes.
Fish
Catch or try to catch fish, typically by using a net or hook and line
He was fishing for pike
I've told the girls we've gone fishing
Fishes
Plural of fish
Fish
Search by groping or feeling for something concealed
He fished for his registration certificate and held it up to the policeman's torch
Fishes
(universal) multiple kinds of fish
Coral bleaching threatens to disrupt the population equilibria of the reef’s fishes.
Fish
Mend or strengthen with a fish.
Fishes
Multiple individual fish
I caught six fishes today!
Fish
Join (rails in a railway track) with a fishplate.
Fish
Any of numerous cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates characteristically having fins, gills, and a streamlined body and including the bony fishes, such as catfishes and tunas, and the cartilaginous fishes, such as sharks and rays.
Fish
Any of various jawless aquatic craniates, including the lampreys and hagfishes.
Fish
The flesh of such animals used as food.
Fish
(Informal) A person, especially one considered deficient in something
A poor fish.
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish.
Fish
To look for something by feeling one's way; grope
Fished in both pockets for a coin.
Fish
To seek something in a sly or indirect way
Fish for compliments.
Fish
To catch or try to catch (fish).
Fish
To catch or try to catch fish in
Fish mountain streams.
Fish
To catch or pull as if fishing
Deftly fished the corn out of the boiling water.
Fish
(countable) A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills.
Salmon is a fish.
The fishmonger sells fishes from all over the world.
Ichthyologists study the fish of the world.
We have many fish in our aquarium.
Fish
Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water.
Fish
(Newfoundland) Cod; codfish.
Fish
(uncountable) The flesh of the fish used as food.
The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta.
Though Lena is a vegetarian, she doesn't have any problem with eating fish.
Fish
(uncountable) A card game in which the object is to obtain cards in pairs or sets of four (depending on the variation), by asking the other players for cards of a particular rank.
Fish
A woman.
Fish
An easy victim for swindling.
Fish
A bad poker player. Compare shark (a good poker player).
Fish
A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace, originally shaped roughly like a fish, used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship.
Fish
(nautical) A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
A torpedo self-propelled explosive device.
Fish
(zoology) A paraphyletic grouping of the following extant taxonomic groups:
Fish
Class Myxini, the hagfish (no vertebrae)
Fish
Class Petromyzontida, the lampreys (no jaw)
Fish
Within infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates (also including Tetrapoda))
Fish
(cartomancy) The thirty-fourth Lenormand card.
Fish
(prison slang) A new (usually vulnerable) prisoner.
Fish
A male homosexual; a gay man.
Fish
A period of time spent fishing.
The fish at the lake didn't prove successful.
Fish
An instance of seeking something.
Merely two fishes for information told the whole story.
Fish
(obsolete) A counter, used in various games.
Fish
(intransitive) To hunt fish or other aquatic animals in a body of water.
We went fishing for crabs by the pier.
She went to the river to fish for trout.
Fish
(transitive) To search (a body of water) for something other than fish.
They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body.
Fish
To use as bait when fishing.
Fish
(intransitive) To (attempt to) find or get hold of an object by searching among other objects.
Why are you fishing through my things?
He was fishing for the keys in his pocket.
Fish
To talk to people in an attempt to get them to say something, or seek to obtain something by artifice.
The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information.
The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments.
Fish
Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it.
Fish
To repair (a spar or mast) by fastening a beam or other long object (often called a fish) over the damaged part (see Noun above).
Fish
To hoist the flukes of.
Fish
A counter, used in various games.
Fish
A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.
Fish
An oviparous, vertebrate animal usually having fins and a covering scales or plates. It breathes by means of gills, and lives almost entirely in the water. See Pisces.
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; Pisces.
Fish
The flesh of fish, used as food.
Fish
A purchase used to fish the anchor.
Fish
To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing a net.
Fish
To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth; as, to fish for compliments.
Any other fishing question.
Fish
To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.
Fish
To search by raking or sweeping.
Fish
To try with a fishing rod; to catch fish in; as, to fish a stream.
Fish
Any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills;
The shark is a large fish
In the livingroom there was a tank of colorful fish
Fish
The flesh of fish used as food;
In Japan most fish is eaten raw
After the scare about foot-and-mouth disease a lot of people started eating fish instead of meat
They have a chef who specializes in fish
Fish
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Pisces
Fish
The twelfth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about February 19 to March 20
Fish
Seek indirectly;
Fish for compliments
Fish
Catch or try to catch fish or shellfish;
I like to go fishing on weekends
Fish
Aquatic vertebrate with gills and fins.
The fish swam swiftly away from the diver.
Fish
A cold-blooded aquatic animal without limbs.
She added a tropical fish to her aquarium.
Fish
Flesh of fish used as food.
They had fish for dinner last night.
Common Curiosities
Is 'fish' correct when talking about multiple species?
Technically, 'fishes' is correct for multiple species.
Why do some people say 'fishes' even for a single species?
It may be colloquial or based on a misunderstanding of the convention.
Can 'fish' and 'fishes' be used interchangeably?
Not usually; 'fishes' specifically indicates multiple species.
How should children learn to pluralize 'fish'?
Teach them 'fish' for the same species and 'fishes' for different species.
Can 'fishes' imply quantity over variety?
It's uncommon, as 'fishes' usually implies variety.
Is 'fishes' a modern or an archaic term?
'Fishes' is modern when used correctly for multiple species.
In cooking, do we refer to 'fish' or 'fishes'?
'Fish' is used when referring to the food, regardless of the species.
Do scientific texts always use 'fishes' for plural?
Yes, when referring to multiple species, scientists prefer 'fishes'.
Does 'fish' ever take an 'es' for the plural?
No, 'fish' remains the same in both singular and plural forms.
Are there idioms with 'fishes'?
Idioms usually use 'fish', like "a big fish in a small pond."
Do 'fish' and 'fishes' have different pronunciations?
Yes, 'fishes' has an extra syllable, 'fish-es'.
Which is more popular in everyday language?
'Fish' is more commonly used in everyday language.
In biblical texts, which is correct?
'Fish' is used, as in the story of the loaves and fishes.
Is 'fish' used in taxonomy?
No, 'fishes' is preferred for taxonomic classification.
In fishing regulations, which term is more common?
'Fish' is generally used in legal and regulatory contexts.
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Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
