Definition of COUCH

couch

Plural: couches

Noun

  • an upholstered seat for more than one person
  • a flat coat of paint or varnish used by artists as a primer
  • a narrow bed on which a patient lies during psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment
  • An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.
  • A bed, a resting-place.
  • The den of an otter.
  • A preliminary layer, as of colour or size.
  • A mass of steeped barley spread upon a floor to germinate, in malting; or the floor occupied by the barley.
  • Psychotherapy.
  • Voters who opt out of voting, usually by staying home on their couch.
  • Couch grass, a species of persistent grass, Elymus repens, usually considered a weed.

Verb

Verb Forms: couched, couching, couches

  • To express or phrase in a particular way; to lie down.
  • formulate in a particular style or language
  • To lie down; to recline (upon a couch or other place of repose).
  • To bend the body, as in reverence, pain, labor, etc.; to stoop; to crouch.
  • To lay something upon a bed or other resting place.
  • To arrange or dispose as if in a bed.
  • To lay or deposit in a bed or layer; to bed.
  • To lower (a spear or lance) to the position of attack.
  • In the treatment of a cataract in the eye, to displace the opaque lens with a sharp object such as a needle. The technique is regarded as largely obsolete.
  • To transfer (for example, sheets of partly dried pulp) from the wire mould to a felt blanket for further drying.
  • To attach a thread onto fabric with small stitches in order to add texture.
  • To phrase in a particular style; to use specific wording for.
  • To lie down for concealment; to conceal, to hide; to be concealed; to be included or involved darkly or secretly.

Examples

  • a couch of malt
  • He couched it as a request, but it was an order.
  • He had to carefully couch his strategy in his mind, not revealing his next move.
  • He spent years on the couch going over his traumatic childhood.
  • If Kamala Harris replaces Joe Biden in the 2024 election, analysts warn that she will lose to the couch.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English couche, cowche, from Old French couche, from the verb (see below). Doublet of cwtch.

Scrabble Score: 12

couch: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
couch: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
couch: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

couch: valid Words With Friends Word