couch

American  

[kauch, kooch] / kaʊtʃ, kutʃ /

noun

• couches
  plural

1. a piece of furniture for seating from two to four people, typically in the form of a bench with a back, sometimes having an armrest at one or each end, and partly or wholly upholstered and often fitted with springs, tailored cushions, skirts, etc.; sofa.

2. a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.

3. a bed or other place of rest; a lounge; any place used for repose.

4. the lair of a wild beast.

5. Brewing. the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.

6. Papermaking. the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.

7. Fine Arts. a primer coat or layer, as of paint.

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verb (used with object)

• couches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• couched,
  past participle,  past
• couching
  present participle

1. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express.

   a simple request couched in respectful language.

2. to express indirectly or obscurely.

   the threat couched under his polite speech.

3. to lower or bend down, as the head.

4. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.

5. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.

6. to lay or spread flat.

7. Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.

8. to embroider by couching.

9. Archaic. to hide; conceal.

verb (used without object)

• couches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• couched,
  past participle,  past
• couching
  present participle

1. to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.

2. to crouch; bend; stoop.

3. to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.

4. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.

idioms

1. on the couch, undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.

couch British  

/ kaʊtʃ /

noun

1. a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person

2. a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst

3. a frame upon which barley is malted

4. a priming layer of paint or varnish, esp in a painting

5. papermaking

   1. a board on which sheets of handmade paper are dried by pressing

   2. a felt blanket onto which sheets of partly dried paper are transferred for further drying

   3. a roll on a papermaking machine from which the wet web of paper on the wire is transferred to the next section

6. archaic the lair of a wild animal

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verb

1. (tr) to express in a particular style of language

   couched in an archaic style

2. (when tr, usually reflexive or passive) to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep

3. archaic (intr) to lie in ambush; lurk

4. (tr) to spread (barley) on a frame for malting

5. (intr) (of decomposing leaves) to lie in a heap or bed

6. (tr) to embroider or depict by couching

7. (tr) to lift (sheets of handmade paper) onto the board on which they will be dried

8. (tr) surgery to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye

9. archaic (tr) to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coucher
  noun
• well-couched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• couches
  plural

Participles

• couching
  present
• couched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• couch
  simple
• couches
  simple
• have couched
  perfect
• has couched
  perfect
• am couching
  progressive
• are couching
  progressive
• is couching
  progressive
• have been couching
  perfect progressive
• has been couching
  perfect progressive

Past

• couched
  simple
• had couched
  perfect
• was couching
  progressive
• were couching
  progressive
• had been couching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will couch
  simple
• will have couched
  perfect
• will be couching
  progressive
• will have been couching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of couch

1300–50; (noun) Middle English couche < Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of coucher; (v.) Middle English couchen < Anglo-French, Old French coucher, Old French colcher < Latin collocāre to put into place, equivalent to col- col- ¹ + locāre to put, place; see locate

Explanation

A couch is a sofa — an upholstered piece of furniture that seats more than one person. It's nice to have a couch that's big enough for your whole family to sit on while you watch TV. The word couch comes from the French word coucher, meaning to lie down. Some types of couches are indeed meant for lying down. A psychiatrist's couch, for example, was designed to make patients feel comfortable when discussing their problems. In language, to couch is to phrase your words in a certain manner. If you don't want to hurt your friend's feelings, you should couch your words carefully when you tell her that her everyone is leaving her party early.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

couch couches couched couching

I sat on a couch, my back up against the wall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

But she’s even more impressive in her sober scenes, participating in the world beyond her couch, bringing food to the McGeowns and, finally, acting as a mother to Gina.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Add these 13 to your watchlist for when temperatures drop and you want to get cozy on the couch under a blanket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Mary Timby was fed up with dating apps when she booked a trip to Ireland on a whim last summer - from the comfort of her Colorado couch.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Because when he left Shady Glen, he went to his aunt’s house, his lumpy couch in the den, bland chicken dinners.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

The inmates allegedly paid rent for the accommodation complete with couches, large beds, TVs, fridges -- even dining tables.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Mint struck its final circulating pennies on Nov. 12, 2025, each one costing 3.69 cents to produce, leaving roughly 300 billion of them in jars, couches and the ashtrays of America.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Oversized disco balls hung overhead, casting flecks of light onto the couches, which were shaped like the brand’s beloved Texas toast.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

The plane’s plush leather seats and couches and faux library bookcases will remain, although U.S. presidential seals will be affixed to the walls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

At the end are two big windows and a collection of couches.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

The Asian Football Confederation couched its condemnation of Infantino - and, make no mistake, it is livid - in creative terms.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Asked by CNN whether he would condemn the group and what they stand for, and whether he would urge President Donald Trump to do the same, Burgum couched his language carefully.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

Mr. Berg’s argument dissolves upon separation from the western ideological vacuum in which it is so delicately couched.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

He couched the stunning breach of diplomatic norms as a necessity given sweeping U.S. security concerns in the region.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

Dunning’s paper, which declared nuclear testing to be “mandatory to the defense of our country,” was couched in the sober language of an academic treatise.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

It said vaping had an association with problems including wheezing and couching, poor oral and dental health, poor sleep, mental health problems and eye symptoms.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Organizations have recognized that couching fears in imaginative play is productive.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023

Beside trepanning, the more radical surgeries included mastectomy, amputation, hernia reduction and cataract couching.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2023

Climate research often frames the implications of warming in terms of its economic impacts, couching damages in monetary terms that are sometimes used to suggest that small increases in average temperature can be managed.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2023

A greyhound, as white as ivory, couching on its hocks and elbows, its tail curved into the bony sickle of the greyhound, watched the old man with the doe-soft eyes of pity.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• bed
• chair
• lounge