poach

[pohch]

verb (used without object)

to trespass, especially on another's game preserve, in order to steal animals or to hunt.

to take game or fish illegally.

(of land) to become broken up or slushy by being trampled.

(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) to play a ball hit into the territory of one's partner that is properly the partner's ball to play.

Informal. to cheat in a game or contest.

verb (used with object)

to trespass on (private property), especially in order to hunt or fish.

to steal (game or fish) from another's property.

to take without permission and use as one's own: to poach ideas; a staff poached from other companies.

to break or tear up by trampling.

to mix with water and reduce to a uniform consistency, as clay.

Origin of poach

1520–30; earlier: to shove, thrust < Middle French pocher to gouge < Germanic; akin to poke¹

Related formspoach·a·ble, adjective

poach

[pohch]

verb (used with object)

to cook (eggs, fish, fruits, etc.) in a hot liquid that is kept just below the boiling point.

Origin of poach

1350–1400; Middle English poche < Middle French pocher literally, to bag (the yolk inside the white), derivative of poche bag (French poche pocket) < Middle Dutch poke poke²

Related formspoach·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for poached

smuggle, pilfer, intrude, filch, rob, plunder, appropriate, encroach, steal

Examples from the Web for poached

Contemporary Examples of poached

They are poached instead of hard-boiled, boasting anti-heroes with nihilistic worldviews who are nevertheless vulnerable.
‘True Detective,’ Obsessive-Compulsive Noir, and ‘Twin Peaks’
Jimmy So
March 14, 2014
If elephant, rhino, and other African wildlife are poached to extinction, tourism will dry up.
Borana Joins the Fight to Save Kenya’s Rhinos…and Wants You to Help Too
Joanna Eede
February 18, 2014
Mired in scandal, the Vatican poached an American Fox News journalist to handle communications.
Greg Burke: The Pope’s New PR Guy
Barbie Latza Nadeau
June 24, 2012
The resulting column revealed that on Sundays, Hoover ate a hearty breakfast of poached eggs and hotcakes.
Hoover’s Secret Files
Ronald Kessler
August 2, 2011
Last year Facebook poached Marne Levine, a White House economic adviser, to help run its global public policy efforts.
Facebook Woos Washington
Dan Lyons
April 20, 2011

Historical Examples of poached

Who that has poached a pile does not gravitate there, as the needle to the pole?
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 9, 1870
Various
Or put the sausages into boiling water, simmer them about five minutes, and serve them up with poached eggs, or roasted potatoes.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
"I, too, will have some ham and a couple of poached eggs," he said.
The Burning Spear
John Galsworthy
He got me under the jaw this evening, and I had to ask for poached eggs for supper.
The Stark Munro Letters
J. Stark Munro
To many, boiled, fried, poached and scrambled form the limit of their knowledge.
Sandwiches
Sarah Tyson Heston Rorer

British Dictionary definitions for poached

poach

verb

to catch (game, fish, etc) illegally by trespassing on private property

to encroach on or usurp (another person's rights, duties, etc) or steal (an idea, employee, etc)

tennis badminton to take or play (shots that should belong to one's partner)

to break up (land) into wet muddy patches, as by riding over it, or (of land) to become broken up in this way

(intr) (of the feet, shoes, etc) to sink into heavy wet ground

Word Origin for poach

C17: from Old French pocher, of Germanic origin; compare Middle Dutch poken to prod; see poke 1

poach

verb

to simmer (eggs, fish, etc) very gently in water, milk, stock, etc

Word Origin for poach

C15: from Old French pochier to enclose in a bag (as the yolks are enclosed by the whites); compare poke ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for poached

adj.

of eggs, mid-15c., past participle adjective from poach (v.2).

poach

v.1

"steal game," 1520s, "to push, poke," from Middle French pocher "to thrust, poke," from Old French pochier "poke out, gouge, prod, jab," from a Germanic source (cf. Middle High German puchen "to pound, beat, knock," German pochen, Middle Dutch boken "to beat") related to poke (v.). Sense of "trespass for the sake of stealing" is first attested 1610s, perhaps via notion of "thrusting" oneself onto another's property, or perhaps from French pocher "to pocket" (see poach (v.2)). Related: Poached; poaching.

poach

v.2

"cook in liquid," early 15c., from Old French poché, past participle of pochier (12c.), literally "put into a pocket" (as the white of an egg forms a pocket for the yolk), from poche "bag, pocket," from Frankish *pokka "bag," from Proto-Germanic *puk- (see poke (n.)). Related: Poached; poaching.