What does "fitch" mean?
A polecat, such as the European polecat (Mustela putorius), the striped polecat, steppe polecat, or black-footed polecat of America.
Fitch
name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·1 syllable ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A polecat, such as the European polecat (Mustela putorius), the striped polecat, steppe polecat, or black-footed polecat of America.
- Grammar: fitch is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: polecat, animal, antelope, armadillo.
- Usage evidence: The Nutifood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company recently got an expected debt rating of B+ from Fitch Ratings, which predicts the company will profit from more Vietnamese buying health foods.
How to use "fitch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fitch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fitch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fitch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fitch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fitch" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "polecat" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fitch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A polecat, such as the European polecat (Mustela putorius), the striped polecat, steppe polecat, or black-footed polecat of America.
"The more beautiful of the two comes from a North American species, the black-footed pole-cat (No. 3), which is creamy yellow, sprinkled with black. Made-up skins of this species are sold as "natural fitch" to distinguish them from those of the common fitch, which are generally dyed. The finest skins of this pole-cat, now nearly extinct in Great Britain, are procured from the colder parts of Russia and Siberia."
- 2 A kind of twisted open weave in wickerwork.
- 3 Alternative form of vetch. alt-of, alternative, obsolete
"1. Colutæa vesicaria vulgaris sylvestris. Ordinary Bastard Sene with bladders. This greater Bastard Sene groweth in time to be a tree of a reasonable greatnesse, the stem or trunck being of the bignesse of a mans arme or greater, covered with a blackish greene ragged barke, the wood whereof is harder then of an Elder, but with a pith in the middle of the branches which are divided many wayes, having divers winged leaves composed of many small round pointed or rather flat pointed leaves, set at severall distances, and somewhat like unto Licoris, or the Hatchet fitch, among which come forth yellow flowers like unto Broome flowers and as large; after which come thinne swelling cods, like unto thinne transparent bladders; wherein are conteined blacke seede set upon a middle ribbe within the bladders, which being alittle crushed betweene the fingers, will give a cracke like a bladder full of winde: the roote groweth great and wooddy, branching forth divers wayes."
- 4 dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened wordnet
- 5 A skin of a polecat.
"For those who cannot afford the luxury of real fur, the most picturesque and delightful substitute is offered in stoles and muffs made up of plush-pony skin trimmed with a piece of natural fitch set slant-ways across the front of the muff […]"
Verb
- 1 To use this kind of open weave.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Old French. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. countable, uncountable
Example
"The Nutifood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company recently got an expected debt rating of B+ from Fitch Ratings, which predicts the company will profit from more Vietnamese buying health foods."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fitch"?
Common synonyms include: polecat, animal, antelope, armadillo, bat, elephant.
How do you use "fitch" in a sentence?
The Nutifood Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company recently got an expected debt rating of B+ from Fitch Ratings, which predicts the company will profit from more Vietnamese buying health foods.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Shortening of fitchew, or directly borrowed from its antecedent, Middle Dutch vitsche (“polecat”). More at fitchew.
Etymology 2
See vetch.
Etymology 3
English surname, possibly from Old French fiche (“iron post”). A connection with the noun fitch (“polecat”) is unlikely as the surname predates it by at least 300 years.