# catfishing

Pronunciation: say "KAT-fish-ing" /ˈkætfɪʃɪŋ/

## Noun

1. Deceiving people online by posing as someone else through an invented social media profile.
   - Simple: The act of making a fake online profile to trick or fool people.
   - _Police warned that catfishing has become a common way to defraud lonely people._
   - _After months of online dating, she realized she had been a victim of catfishing._

## Verb

2. Present participle of catfish. — present participle and gerund of catfish (“to create and operate a fake online profile”)
   - Simple: Present participle of catfish. Use this form when the action is happening now.
   - _Investigators discovered he had been catfishing dozens of victims across multiple platforms._
   - _Catfishing unsuspecting users for money, the scammer built fake romantic relationships._
3. Present participle of catfish. — present participle and gerund of catfish (“to fish for catfish”)
   - Simple: Present participle of catfish. Use this form when the action is happening now.
   - _We went catfishing at dawn and filled the cooler by noon._
   - _Catfishing in these warm shallows usually means a long, patient wait._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/catfishing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).