poach1
- 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.
- 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 poach1
poach2
- to cook (eggs, fish, fruits, etc.) in a hot liquid that is kept just below the boiling point.
Origin of poach2
Examples from the Web for poached
Contemporary Examples
They are poached instead of hard-boiled, boasting anti-heroes with nihilistic worldviews who are nevertheless vulnerable.
If elephant, rhino, and other African wildlife are poached to extinction, tourism will dry up.
Mired in scandal, the Vatican poached an American Fox News journalist to handle communications.
The resulting column revealed that on Sundays, Hoover ate a hearty breakfast of poached eggs and hotcakes.
Last year Facebook poached Marne Levine, a White House economic adviser, to help run its global public policy efforts.
Historical Examples
Who that has poached a pile does not gravitate there, as the needle to the pole?
Or put the sausages into boiling water, simmer them about five minutes, and serve them up with poached eggs, or roasted potatoes.
"I, too, will have some ham and a couple of poached eggs," he said.
The Burning SpearJohn Galsworthy
He got me under the jaw this evening, and I had to ask for poached eggs for supper.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
To many, boiled, fried, poached and scrambled form the limit of their knowledge.
SandwichesSarah Tyson Heston Rorer
poach1
- 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
poach2
- to simmer (eggs, fish, etc) very gently in water, milk, stock, etc
Word Origin
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.