couch
couch definition
couch (ko̵uc̸h)
noun
- an article of furniture on which one may sit or lie down; sofa; divan
- any resting place
- Old Poet. a place for sleeping; bed
- Obsolete an animal's lair or den
- Brewing a layer of grain spread to germinate
- Fine Arts a priming layer or coat, as of paint or varnish
Etymology: ME & OFr couche, a bed, lair: see couchthe
transitive verb
- to lay or put on or as on a couch, as to sleep: now usually used reflexively or in the passive voice
- to lower or bring down; esp., to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to an attacking position
- to put in specific or particular words; phrase; express the speech was couched in flowery language
- to embroider with thread laid flat and fastened down with fine stitches
- Archaic to put in a layer
- Obsolete to hide
- Brewing to spread (grain) in a thin layer to germinate
- Surgery to remove (a cataract) by using a needle to push down the crystalline lens of the eye
Etymology: ME couchen < OFr coucher, to lie down < L collocare, to lay < com-, together + locare, to place: see local
intransitive verb
- to lie down on a bed, as to sleep; recline
- to lie in hiding or in ambush
- to lie in a pile, as decomposing leaves
couch Idioms
on the couch
☆Informal undergoing psychoanalysis
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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