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

He felt the same about his perch at the University of London; it wasn’t Oxford or Cambridge but, as he observed, “even revolutionaries like to be in a suitable tradition.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

You might spot the 11-room Inn on the Russian River, a recently upgraded property whose riverside perch includes a private dock and summer rates of roughly $260 to $430 nightly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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

From my perch I see thousands of revelers pour from the tram, cars that magically found a parking spot, bikes, and buses.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Twisting on the wagon perch, I peek at him again.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

From these suspended perches, scientists inspect thousands of broken objects and hundreds of elephant tusks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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

There is an eagle who waits at the highest branches of the world-tree and who knows many things, and a hawk, who perches between the eagle’s eyes.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Jackie and her mate, Shadow, were propelled to celebrity status through a livestream of their nest perched high up in a pine tree overlooking Big Bear Lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 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

"It'd all go to waste otherwise," he told AFP, while stirring a metre-radius metal pan perched atop a gas burner filled with ratatouille.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

A lit candle flickered among the flowers, where a teddy bear was also perched.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

There was an uproar from the other birds as she flew out of its way, then perched again and lunged just as it was about to take another egg.

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

“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

Designed based on perching birds like ravens and crows that frequently switch between air and land, the multifunctional robotic legs allow it to take off autonomously in environments previously inaccessible to winged drones.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 6, 2024

The series began with a goat "perching" on a building in Kew, followed by two elephants reaching their trunks towards each other in Chelsea.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2024

She lit the candle and set it on the coffee table, across from the mirror, before perching on it herself, sitting cross-legged and sliding on the ring.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• alight
• squat
• touch down