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View synonyms for

couch

[ kouch kooch ]

noun

  1. a piece of furniture for seating from two to four people, typically in the form of a bench with a back, sometimes having an armrest at one or each end, and partly or wholly upholstered and often fitted with springs, tailored cushions, skirts, etc.; sofa.
  2. a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.
  3. a bed or other place of rest; a lounge; any place used for repose.
  4. the lair of a wild beast.
  5. Brewing. the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.
  6. Papermaking. the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.
  7. Fine Arts. a primer coat or layer, as of paint.


verb (used with object)

  1. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express:

    a simple request couched in respectful language.

  2. to express indirectly or obscurely:

    the threat couched under his polite speech.

  3. to lower or bend down, as the head.
  4. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
  5. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.
  6. to lay or spread flat.
  7. Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
  8. to embroider by couching.
  9. Archaic. to hide; conceal.

verb (used without object)

  1. to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.
  2. to crouch; bend; stoop.
  3. to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.
  4. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.

couch

/ 첹ʊʃ /

noun

  1. a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person
  2. a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst
  3. a frame upon which barley is malted
  4. a priming layer of paint or varnish, esp in a painting
  5. papermaking
    1. a board on which sheets of handmade paper are dried by pressing
    2. a felt blanket onto which sheets of partly dried paper are transferred for further drying
    3. a roll on a papermaking machine from which the wet web of paper on the wire is transferred to the next section
  6. archaic.
    the lair of a wild animal
“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

verb

  1. tr to express in a particular style of language

    couched in an archaic style

  2. when tr, usually reflexive or passive to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep
  3. archaic.
    intr to lie in ambush; lurk
  4. tr to spread (barley) on a frame for malting
  5. intr (of decomposing leaves) to lie in a heap or bed
  6. tr to embroider or depict by couching
  7. tr to lift (sheets of handmade paper) onto the board on which they will be dried
  8. tr surgery to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye
  9. archaic.
    tr to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈdzܳ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ɱ-dzܳ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of couch1

1300–50; (noun) Middle English couche < Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of coucher; (v.) Middle English couchen < Anglo-French, Old French coucher, Old French colcher < Latin DZdz to put into place, equivalent to col- col- 1 + dz to put, place; locate
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Word History and Origins

Origin of couch1

C14: from Old French couche a bed, lair, from coucher to lay down, from Latin DZdz to arrange, from dz to place; see locate
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. on the couch, Informal. undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Another 159 layoffs are planned at the Bureau of Sanitation, which handles trash pickup and the removal of “bulky items” like mattresses and couches from the curb.

From

Many people associate cannabis with couch time and Netflix, but the “lazy stoner” stereotype has actually been debunked.

From

My Hollywood ending was far from glamorous: me, catatonic on Nick’s couch, realizing I had given it all up for an honest-to-God psychopath.

From

As she thumbs through legal sheets, throwing out old stuff that’s not funny anymore, her two cats and dog lounge lazily on the couch beside her.

From

It’s 12 p.m. in Bali, and two-thirds of Kneecap are sitting on a couch for a Zoom interview.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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