couch-surf

[ kouch-surf ]

/ ˈkaʊtʃˌsɜrf /

Informal.

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verb (used without object)

to stay overnight in someone’s else’s home while traveling: He couch-surfed at the houses of strangers and friends.

verb (used with object)

travel through (a place) or make (one’s way) by staying overnight in other people’s homes: She spent a year couch-surfing the country.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Also couch-hop

[kouch-hop] /ˈkaʊtʃˌhɒp/ .

Origin of couch-surf

First recorded in 2000–05; couch + surf

couch surfer, noun

He eventually found a string of restaurant jobs, and began couch surfing with friends he made at them.
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Stay: Set up base in Helsinki, but spend the weekend couch surfing with locals in Lahti.
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I was travelling through Italy and liked the look of the pictures they had posted on a couch-surfing website.
Generation Naive: Why Young People Can’t Help Falling for Strangers Online|Caitlin Dickson|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The theater job proves temporary, and after weeks of couch surfing McClear finds a bed at a flophouse called the Malibu Hotel.
'The Last of the Live Nude Girls': Sheila McClear’s Memoir|David Goodwillie|December 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST

It's kinda tough dragging one's belongings around when couch-surfing!
The Sleaziest Reality Show Yet?|Christopher Dickey|December 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST