couch
Americannoun
-
couches
plural
-
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.
-
a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.
-
a bed or other place of rest; a lounge; any place used for repose.
-
the lair of a wild beast.
-
Brewing. the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.
-
Papermaking. the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.
-
Fine Arts. a primer coat or layer, as of paint.
verb (used with object)
-
couches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
couched,
past participle, past
-
couching
present participle
-
to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express.
a simple request couched in respectful language.
-
to express indirectly or obscurely.
the threat couched under his polite speech.
-
to lower or bend down, as the head.
-
to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
-
to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.
-
to lay or spread flat.
-
Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
-
to embroider by couching.
-
Archaic. to hide; conceal.
verb (used without object)
-
couches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
couched,
past participle, past
-
couching
present participle
-
to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.
-
to crouch; bend; stoop.
-
to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.
-
to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.
idioms
noun
-
a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person
-
a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst
-
a frame upon which barley is malted
-
a priming layer of paint or varnish, esp in a painting
-
papermaking
-
a board on which sheets of handmade paper are dried by pressing
-
a felt blanket onto which sheets of partly dried paper are transferred for further drying
-
a roll on a papermaking machine from which the wet web of paper on the wire is transferred to the next section
-
-
archaic the lair of a wild animal
verb
-
(tr) to express in a particular style of language
couched in an archaic style
-
(when tr, usually reflexive or passive) to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep
-
archaic (intr) to lie in ambush; lurk
-
(tr) to spread (barley) on a frame for malting
-
(intr) (of decomposing leaves) to lie in a heap or bed
-
(tr) to embroider or depict by couching
-
(tr) to lift (sheets of handmade paper) onto the board on which they will be dried
-
(tr) surgery to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye
-
archaic (tr) to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
couchsimple
-
couchessimple
-
have couchedperfect
-
has couchedperfect
-
am couchingprogressive
-
are couchingprogressive
-
is couchingprogressive
-
have been couchingperfect progressive
-
has been couchingperfect progressive
Past
-
couchedsimple
-
had couchedperfect
-
was couchingprogressive
-
were couchingprogressive
-
had been couchingperfect progressive
Future
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I sat on a couch, my back up against the wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Well, it’s certainly lively, but in a boisterous way that made me regret I had left my couch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
At one point in the clip, the white pup gazes adoringly at the NFL star before hopping onto a couch to snuggle beside him while Kelce lovingly pets the pooch.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
"Oh, no!" said Sam's mom, after the moving men picked up the couch.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
The inmates allegedly paid rent for the accommodation complete with couches, large beds, TVs, fridges -- even dining tables.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
People need to get off their couches and go and vote.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 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
Situational and other companies share two floors, an outdoor patio with couches and heat lamps, and a gym with Situational Awareness-branded weights on the squat rack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
We'll eat our Christmas dinner in there at the table, sit on the couches, and look at the tree.
From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour
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
Nvidia couched the new PC announcement as part of a broader shift in AI computing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
But for Nihill, that joke only works if it’s couched within the larger context of the cross-cultural connections, including the fact that Jamaican-born political activist Marcus Garvey drew upon the Irish independence movement for inspiration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Calculus makes this relatively straightforward, but Newton deliberately avoided using calculus in his published proofs, realizing that his peers would not accept the calculations unless they were couched in familiar language.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
