"fishing expedition" meaning in English

See fishing expedition in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-fishing expedition.ogg [Australia] Forms: fishing expeditions [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} fishing expedition (plural fishing expeditions)
  1. (idiomatic, law, informal, derogatory) A search for information, especially incriminating information, that is conducted without specific direction or goal, in the hope that something may turn up. Tags: derogatory, idiomatic, informal Translations (search for (incriminating) information): 釣魚式調查 /钓鱼式调查 (diàoyú shì diàochá) (Chinese Mandarin), esitutkinta (Finnish), recherche à l'aveuglette [feminine] (French), partie de pêche [feminine] (French), сбор компрома́та (sbor kompromáta) [masculine] (Russian), зонди́рование по́чвы (zondírovanije póčvy) [neuter] (Russian), expedición de pesca [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-fishing_expedition-en-noun-RdnxMRu9 Categories (other): Law, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 94 6 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 86 14 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 94 6 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 95 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 80 20 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 82 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 82 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 84 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 87 13 Topics: law Disambiguation of 'search for (incriminating) information': 98 2
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fishing, expedition. (an outing for catching fish)
    Sense id: en-fishing_expedition-en-noun-e8hRnMe1

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "fishing expeditions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "fishing expedition (plural fishing expeditions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Law",
          "orig": "en:Law",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "94 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "94 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "95 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "80 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A search for information, especially incriminating information, that is conducted without specific direction or goal, in the hope that something may turn up."
      ],
      "id": "en-fishing_expedition-en-noun-RdnxMRu9",
      "links": [
        [
          "law",
          "law#English"
        ],
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, law, informal, derogatory) A search for information, especially incriminating information, that is conducted without specific direction or goal, in the hope that something may turn up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "idiomatic",
        "informal"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "law"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "diàoyú shì diàochá",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "word": "釣魚式調查 /钓鱼式调查"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "word": "esitutkinta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "recherche à l'aveuglette"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "partie de pêche"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "sbor kompromáta",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "сбор компрома́та"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "zondírovanije póčvy",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "зонди́рование по́чвы"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "expedición de pesca"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fishing, expedition. (an outing for catching fish)"
      ],
      "id": "en-fishing_expedition-en-noun-e8hRnMe1",
      "links": [
        [
          "fishing",
          "fishing#English"
        ],
        [
          "expedition",
          "expedition#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-fishing expedition.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c6/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "fishing expedition"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "fishing expeditions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "fishing expedition (plural fishing expeditions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English derogatory terms",
        "English idioms",
        "English informal terms",
        "en:Law"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A search for information, especially incriminating information, that is conducted without specific direction or goal, in the hope that something may turn up."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "law",
          "law#English"
        ],
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, law, informal, derogatory) A search for information, especially incriminating information, that is conducted without specific direction or goal, in the hope that something may turn up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "idiomatic",
        "informal"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "law"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fishing, expedition. (an outing for catching fish)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fishing",
          "fishing#English"
        ],
        [
          "expedition",
          "expedition#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-fishing expedition.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c6/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/En-au-fishing_expedition.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "diàoyú shì diàochá",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "word": "釣魚式調查 /钓鱼式调查"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "word": "esitutkinta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "recherche à l'aveuglette"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "partie de pêche"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "sbor kompromáta",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "сбор компрома́та"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "zondírovanije póčvy",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "зонди́рование по́чвы"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "search for (incriminating) information",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "expedición de pesca"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fishing expedition"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.