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.

---

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

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

From Literature

Pictures of the primates perched on a porch-side wall and standing on two legs near a parked car have been shared on social media.

From BBC

The dwelling, perched on the shores of Pavlovac Lake, offers guests the ultimate privacy.

From MarketWatch

Finally, I land on one of my favorite clean-out-the-fridge meals: a lazy woman’s bibimbap-inspired rice bowl, with spiced beef, whatever vegetables are left standing, and one of my surplus eggs perched on top.

From Salon

“Governments come and go, but we’re still here, and we have to work,” said Carlos Rojas, selling hot dogs in downtown Caracas, as customers perched on blue plastic stools on the sidewalk.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• alight
• squat
• touch down