perch
1a pole or rod, usually horizontal, serving as a roost for birds.
any place or object, as a sill, fence, branch, or twig, for a bird, animal, or person to alight or rest upon.
a high or elevated position, resting place, or the like.
a small, elevated seat for the driver of any of certain vehicles.
a pole connecting the fore and hind running parts of a spring carriage or other vehicle.
a post set up as a navigational aid on a navigational hazard or on a buoy.
British.
a linear or square rod.
a measure of volume for stone, about 24 cubic feet (0.7 cubic meters).
Textiles. an apparatus consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal roller, used for inspecting cloth after it leaves the loom.
Obsolete. any pole, rod, or the like.
to alight or rest upon a perch.
to settle or rest in some elevated position, as if on a perch.
to set or place on or as if on a perch.
to inspect (cloth) for defects and blemishes after it has been taken from the loom and placed upon a perch.
Origin of perch
1Other words from perch
- perch·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby perch
Other definitions for perch (2 of 2)
any spiny-finned, freshwater food fish of the genus Perca, as P. flavescens(yellow perch ), of the U.S., or P. fluviatilis, of Europe.
any of various other related, spiny-finned fishes.
any of several embioticid fishes, as Hysterocarpus traski(tule perch ) of California.
Origin of perch
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use perch in a sentence
Often Mick would perch on those back stairs, perusing art books as he waited for her.
The Bookstore That Bewitched Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Greta Garbo | Felice Picano | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI crossed the room with my rifle up, stood on top of the bed, and from my perch looked down at bin Laden.
Luckily for Goodell, he'll have plenty of money if he were to be forced off the commissioner's perch.
Roger Goodell’s TV Disaster Shows What’s Wrong With The NFL | Lloyd Grove | September 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJack Welch, who took over General Electric in 1981, left his perch in 2001, not long after he turned 65.
Don’t Count Rupert Murdoch Out Yet: Why The Magnate Hasn’t Given Up on Time Warner | Daniel Gross | July 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDay after day, Lou sat on the Yankee bench, a perch that increasingly represented his security.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address | Ray Robinson | July 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mr. Crow was rocking back and forth on his perch, for a joke—on anybody except himself—always delighted him.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyI think the coulée right under his perch is an arm of the one we're in; runs in somewhere below.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairMebby I'll perch on top o' the court-house, too, fer a spell, an' take a leetle fly out by the Injun school.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsDorothy descended from her lofty perch on the stool, and met the red gleaming eyes of Pincher intently watching all her movements.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieIsabel gratefully climbed to his high perch, after stating that she had no money, and being royally silenced.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for perch (1 of 2)
/ (pɜːtʃ) /
a pole, branch, or other resting place above ground on which a bird roosts or alights
a similar resting place for a person or thing
another name for rod (def. 7)
a solid measure for stone, usually taken as 198 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches
a pole joining the front and rear axles of a carriage
a frame on which cloth is placed for inspection
obsolete, or dialect a pole
(usually foll by on) to alight, rest, or cause to rest on or as if on a perch: the bird perched on the branch; the cap was perched on his head
(tr) to inspect (cloth) on a perch
Origin of perch
1Derived forms of perch
- percher, noun
British Dictionary definitions for perch (2 of 2)
/ (pɜːtʃ) /
any freshwater spiny-finned teleost fish of the family Percidae, esp those of the genus Perca, such as P. fluviatilis of Europe and P. flavescens (yellow perch) of North America: valued as food and game fishes
any of various similar or related fishes
Origin of perch
2Other words from perch
- Related adjective: percoid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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