perch

¹ American  

[purch] / pɜrtʃ /

noun

1. a pole or rod, usually horizontal, serving as a roost for birds.

2. any place or object, as a sill, fence, branch, or twig, for a bird, animal, or person to alight or rest upon.

3. a high or elevated position, resting place, or the like.

4. a small, elevated seat for the driver of any of certain vehicles.

5. a pole connecting the fore and hind running parts of a spring carriage or other vehicle.

6. a post set up as a navigational aid on a navigational hazard or on a buoy.

7. British.

   1. a linear or square rod.

   2. a measure of volume for stone, about 24 cubic feet (0.7 cubic meters).

8. Textiles. an apparatus consisting of two vertical posts and a horizontal roller, used for inspecting cloth after it leaves the loom.

9. Obsolete. any pole, rod, or the like.

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verb (used without object)

• perches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perched,
  past participle,  past
• perching
  present participle

1. to alight or rest upon a perch.

2. to settle or rest in some elevated position, as if on a perch.

verb (used with object)

• perches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perched,
  past participle,  past
• perching
  present participle

1. to set or place on or as if on a perch.

2. to inspect (cloth) for defects and blemishes after it has been taken from the loom and placed upon a perch.

perch ² American  

[purch] / pɜrtʃ /

noun

• perch,
  plural
• perches
  plural

1. any spiny-finned, freshwater food fish of the genus Perca, as P. flavescens yellow perch, of the U.S., or P. fluviatilis, of Europe.

2. any of various other related, spiny-finned fishes.

3. any of several embioticid fishes, as Hysterocarpus traski tule perch of California.

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perch ¹ British  

/ pɜːtʃ /

noun

1. a pole, branch, or other resting place above ground on which a bird roosts or alights

2. a similar resting place for a person or thing

3. another name for rod

4. a solid measure for stone, usually taken as 198 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches

5. a pole joining the front and rear axles of a carriage

6. a frame on which cloth is placed for inspection

7. obsolete a pole

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verb

1. (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

2. (tr) to inspect (cloth) on a perch

perch ² British  

/ pɜːtʃ /

noun

1. 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

2. any of various similar or related fishes

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• percher
  noun
• perchable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• perch
  plural
• perches
  plural

Participles

• perching
  present
• perched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perch
  simple
• perches
  simple
• have perched
  perfect
• has perched
  perfect
• am perching
  progressive
• are perching
  progressive
• is perching
  progressive
• have been perching
  perfect progressive
• has been perching
  perfect progressive

Past

• perched
  simple
• had perched
  perfect
• was perching
  progressive
• were perching
  progressive
• had been perching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perch
  simple
• will have perched
  perfect
• will be perching
  progressive
• will have been perching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of perch¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English perche, perdge, preche, from Old French, from Latin pertica “pole, staff, measuring rod”

Origin of perch²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English perche, from Middle French, from Latin perca, from Greek pérkē, feminine of adjective pérkos “having dark spots, spotted, speckled”

Explanation

A perch is a temporary resting place. In the middle of climbing a tree, you might find a good perch on a high branch. Bet some birds will be perching there too. Perch has many different meanings. A bird perch is a little stick it can balance on, and the armrest of the couch can offer you a perch during a party. It's also the name of a kind of fish with spiny fins. And it's also an old measurement of 16.5 feet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perch perches perched perching

Despite being located in a popular neighborhood, the property’s elevated perch gives it a rare sense of privacy, making it feel like it’s located in a world all its own.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

“As the days progressed, the subadult started to perch near Shadow in several of his favored trees,” the nonprofit wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Totoki, who joined Sony straight out of college, watched these early experiments from his humble perch as a junior treasurer in Tokyo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

"People fear the environment where the shrine is. No evil will ever happen here. So, nobody fights vultures that perch here," a man they call the Vulture King tells the BBC.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

One day I entered the temple room where they slept and found Leylee dead, her claws stiff around her perch.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

On Centre Court he perches on the public seats on the lookout for any movement.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Pistachio cold foam now perches atop iced coffees from nationwide chains, Dubai chocolate knock-offs sit at every grocery checkout stand and boutique patisseries fill croissants with pistachio butters and creams.

From Salon ● May 6, 2026

The office used to be one of the few perches prominent enough to attract national attention.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

Once inside, the bird perches on a carved head of Pallas before engaging the man in a strange conversation in which it repeats a single dread word.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

From those safe perches, many watched the incoming waves in shock.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

A few days later, they were both in the aerie, perched high in a Jeffrey pine overlooking the picturesque lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

This summer, people are looking askance at the lettuce leaves perched atop their burgers and the berries swimming in their ice tea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

By summer 1895, students were lobbing small balls into waste paper baskets perched upon poles on the lawn of a new Dartford talent factory: Madame Bergman Osterberg's Physical Training College.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Near the base of a column atop which Saint Simeon Stylites once perched, scattered stones lay bare the damage inflicted on the surrounding Byzantine monastery in northern Syria by war, looting and rampant illegal excavations.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

The fish thrashed frantically this way and that as they rose all the way to the top of the silk cotton tree, where the eagle perched on its nest.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

We’d progressed from walking in the park to perching across from each other in my living room to sitting side by side on the family room sofa.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

"One of the responding officers was able to gently coax the bird using food, and the parrot quickly became comfortable, even perching on the officer's hand and shoulder," the airport said in a statement.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026

“Atlanta” built a Lynchian house for its “Teddy Perkins” episode, perching a namesake character buried under prosthetics within its dim innards.

From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2025

They also discovered that the feet are acutely sensitive to touch and this touch had a large representation in the brain, presumably to help with perching.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024

She felt despair sit on her shoulders, as heavy as if the harpy herself were perching there.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• alight
• squat
• touch down