reel in

verb

To bring (a fish etc.) out of the water by winding the line on which it is caught onto a reel (e.g. of a fishing rod).

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Meanings

verbreel in (third-person singular simple present reels in, present participle reeling in, simple past and past participle reeled in)

present singular third person reels in · participle present reeling in · participle past reeled in · past reeled in

  1. transitivefishingTo bring (a fish etc.) out of the water by winding the line on which it is caught onto a reel (e.g. of a fishing rod).
  2. idiomatictransitiveTo bring in (e.g. by attractive offers or persuasion); to lure.

Translations

Dutch binnenhengelen, binnenhengelen
  • binnenhengelen(fishing) bring out of the water
  • binnenhengelenbring in
French ramener, tirer hors de l'eau
  • ramener(fishing) bring out of the water
  • tirer hors de l'eau(fishing) bring out of the water
  • attirerbring in
  • attirer l'attentionbring in
  • capterbring in
  • capter l'attentionbring in
  • ferrerbring in
Polish nawijać, nawinąć
  • nawijać(fishing) bring out of the water
  • nawinąć(fishing) bring out of the water
  • przyciągaćbring in
  • przyciągnąćbring in
Spanish traer bobinando
  • traer bobinando(fishing) bring out of the water
Cite this entry
APA

reel in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reel%20in

MLA

“reel in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reel%20in. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reel in,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reel%20in.

Source: reel in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.