perched

American  

[purcht] / pɜrtʃt /

adjective

1. (of a bird) resting on a perch, such as a branch, telephone wire, or fence, or a rod specially designed for the purpose.

   While hiking I caught sight of a perched owl near the trail.

2. settled or resting in a relatively high position, like a bird on a perch.

   The tour will stop for lunch in a perched village offering a splendid view of the entire French Riviera coastline.

3. Geology. (of a boulder or block) left on the top of a hill, ridge, etc., by ice that melted after carrying it there.

   As you continue hiking southeast, look out for the perched boulder overlooking a pond.

4. Geology.

   1. (of a lake) having a surface level at an unusually high elevation, well above that of aquifers and other bodies of water in the area, because it has formed on a dense, hardened layer of sand mixed with organic matter that traps water on top of it.

      Half of all the world’s known perched lakes are found on Australia’s Fraser Island.

   2. (of an aquifer) occurring above the regional water table, having been formed by an accumulation of groundwater that cannot permeate the underlying layer of clay or other dense soil.

      Perched aquifers are sometimes good water sources, but they tend to be relatively small and easily depleted with overpumping.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of perch.

Other Word Forms

• unperched adjective

Etymology

Origin of perched

First recorded in 1815–25; perch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; perch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

A few seagulls are perched on the fence nearby, watching them with beady eyes, no doubt hoping for some crumbs.

From Literature

After a few runs, settle in for a hearty lunch of schnitzel and spinach dumplings cooked in brown butter sauce at Filzalm, a cozy mountain hut perched 4,265 feet above sea level.

From The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. delegation is expected to take over a late-19th-century church turned convening space perched in the center of a frosty mountainside promenade.

From The Wall Street Journal

In just a few weeks, the four astronauts will be strapped into a spacecraft, perched on the top of the rocket, ready to blast off to the Moon.

From BBC

Tucking into the shady doorway next to Pinkerton’s, I perched myself on an empty wooden crate to have a read.

From Literature

Related Words

• alight
• squat
• touch down