perched

[ purcht ]

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 ¹.

Other Words From

• un·perched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of perched¹

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

Crowds of birdwatchers flocked to a quiet cul-de-sac after a rare sighting of a species perched on a garden washing line.

From BBC

Workers at a construction site perched on a wooden beam and ate lunches they’d retrieved from a food truck.

From Los Angeles Times

Mohammed recounts the horrors from his bed in the Nabih Berri government hospital, which is perched on a hilltop in Nabatieh.

From BBC

Kenneth Rose, who called himself “100% Portagee,” perched on a pickup truck tailgate to watch the spectacle, a beer in hand.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s the most important work I’ve ever done,” she says, perched at the bar of a hotel in midtown Manhattan.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alight
• squat
• touch down