fish out of water

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To continue the maritime theme, Wolves have looked like a fish out of water for most of this Premier League campaign.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

A numbers man more than a people person, he’s a fish out of water in Atlanta, as he spells out in the song “How Can I Call This Home?”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025

“David would be like a fish out of water if he were out of public service,” Bumpers, who served 18 years with Pryor in the Senate, said in 2006.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 20, 2024

Since we went to Asia, maybe we'll go somewhere where we are a fish out of water.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2024

The rest of us felt like fish out of water as usual.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver