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fetch up

B2 informal intransitive
In simple words

To end up in a place, sometimes without planning to get there.

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic informal

To arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly or at the end of a long or meandering journey.

"After years of travelling, he finally fetched up in a small village in Portugal."

2 C1 idiomatic informal

(British dialectal/informal) To vomit.

"He felt so ill on the boat that he fetched up over the side."

3 C1 formal

(Nautical/archaic) To stop suddenly, as a vessel does when an anchor catches.

"The ship fetched up hard against the sandbar."

Usage notes

Chiefly British English. In its most common modern sense, 'fetch up' means to arrive or end up somewhere, often after a long or wandering journey. An older, now less common sense means to vomit (British dialectal). In American English, 'end up' or 'wind up' are preferred equivalents.

Commonly used with

somewhere place city doorstep situation eventually

Forms

Base
fetch up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
fetches up
he/she/it
Past simple
fetched up
yesterday
Past participle
fetched up
have + pp
-ing form
fetching up
continuous

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