What does "fist" mean?

Q: What does "fist" mean?

1. (clenched hand) a hand with the fingers curled tightly into the palm. 2. (an attempt or effort) how well you do something, usually in the phrase 'make a good fist of it'. 3. (to clench the hand) to close your hand tightly into a ball. 4. (to hit) to hit someone or something with a closed hand.

fist — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01clenched hand

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. a hand with the fingers curled tightly into the palm.

n. the hand with the fingers doubled into the palm and the thumb folded over them, typically for striking or as a gesture of anger or determination.

“He held the money tightly in his fist so he wouldn't lose it.”

“The protester raised a defiant fist toward the sky, a gesture that was captured by every photographer in the square.”

Synonyms

clenched hand

Antonyms

palmopen hand

02an attempt or effort

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun British English · Informal

n. how well you do something, usually in the phrase 'make a good fist of it'.

n. an attempt or performance at a task; almost exclusively used in the idiom 'to make a good/poor fist of something'.

“It was her first time baking a cake, but she made a good fist of it.”

“Despite having no formal training in accounting, the new manager made a surprisingly good fist of balancing the department's complex budget.”

Synonyms

attempt effort go

03to clench the hand

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to close your hand tightly into a ball.

v. to clench the fingers into the palm to form a fist.

“She fisted her hands in her pockets to keep them warm.”

“He fisted his hands in frustration as he watched the train pull away from the platform just as he reached the gate.”

Synonyms

clench grip

Antonyms

unclench

04to hit

C1 · Advanced Literary

v. to hit someone or something with a closed hand.

v. to strike or punch with the fist; often used in sports or physical altercations.

“The boxer fisted his opponent's ribs during the final round.”

“In the heat of the argument, he fisted the table so hard that the glasses rattled and the water spilled.”

Synonyms

punch strike hit

From Middle English fist, from Old English fȳst (“fist”), from Proto-West Germanic *fūsti, of uncertain origin. Cognates Cognate with Yola fest, hist (“fist”), Saterland Frisian Fäste, Fääste (“fist”), Central Franconian Fuus (“fist”), Cimbrian bòista, vòista (“fist”), Dutch vuist (“fist”), German Faust (“fist”), German Low German Fuust (“fist”), Luxembourgish Fauscht (“fist”), Yiddish פֿויסט (foyst, “fist”). More at five.

From Middle English fisten, fiesten, from Old English fistan ("to break wind gently"; supported by Old English fisting (“breaking wind”)), from Proto-Germanic fistaz (“breaking wind, fart”), from Proto-Germanic fīsaną (“to break or discharge wind, fart”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Cognate with Dutch veest (“a fart”), Low German fīsten (“to break wind”), German Fist (“a quiet wind”), Fisten (“breaking wind”), Swedish fisa (“to fart”), Latin spīrō (“breathe, blow”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

fist(A2)

fisting(C2)

clenching finger