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

/ kaʊtʃ /

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

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

Derived Forms

• ˈcoucher, noun

Other Words From

• well-couched adjective

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 collocāre to put into place, equivalent to col- col- ¹ + locāre to put, place; locate

Word History and Origins

Origin of couch¹

C14: from Old French couche a bed, lair, from coucher to lay down, from Latin collocāre to arrange, from locāre to place; see locate

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

After Ronan interjected with her comments, there was a brief silence before the audience applauded, while the men on the couch, and Norton, nodded their agreement and acknowledged her point.

From BBC

McMillion allegedly said the unit’s members had turned their Internal Affairs interviews into a “couch session” to air out their grievances.

From Los Angeles Times

"Yeah, that's nice . . . you're the wrong gender," Stewart shoots back, before playfully shoving Barrymore off in an awkward moment that the host leans into by dramatically falling back on the couch.

From Salon

We’re sitting on a couch in the pool house of a Mediterranean-style home in the Hollywood Hills that has been owned over the years by Mary Astor, record producer Marshall Chess and Marilyn Manson.

From Los Angeles Times

“I never really had sit-down dinners with my family. My mom was a single mom and we would eat on the couch,” says White.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bed
• chair
• lounge