couch

verb \ ˈkau̇ch \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: couch in a Sentence

couched; couching; couches

transitive verb

1 : to lay (oneself) down for rest or sleep

The lion couched himself by a tree.

2 : to embroider (a design) by laying down a thread and fastening it with small stitches at regular intervals

3 : to place or hold level and pointed forward ready for use

Couching his lance, he seated himself firmly in his saddle …
—W. Somerset Maugham

4 : to phrase or express in a specified manner

The comments were couched in strong terms.

intransitive verb

1 : to lie down or recline for sleep or rest

the odd way a camel couches

2 : to lie in ambush

The tiger couches in the thick grass, watching its prey move closer.

See couch defined for English-language learners

See couch defined for kids

Examples of couch in a Sentence

I'm trying to couch this delicately: I don't think we should date anymore.
I couched behind the partition so as to avoid an awkward situation with my ex.

Recent Examples of couch from the Web

The decision gives comfort to extremists who love to couch this as a war.

— raisa habersham, ajc, "Travel ban hits home for metro Atlanta Muslims, supporters," 26 June 2018
Two administration officials acknowledged that Trump simply does not see allies and adversaries in the traditional way, nor any reason to couch his views in diplomatic niceties.

— karen deyoung, Anchorage Daily News, "In Trump, some see the end of the world order," 8 June 2018
The category of value would be $100,001 - $250,000 and the interest rate would be zero.’’ That statement was couched in a footnote on the 45th page of a 92-page disclosure.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Trump reports apparent Daniels reimbursement in disclosure filing," 17 May 2018
Students and administrators talked to each class about school safety, about the issues behind the walk and about how an action could be couched in what Baal called the Ignatian spirit, and the school's emphasis on spiritual and social justice.

— brian cox, chicagotribune.com, "About 1,000 New Trier students join national walk out, hold moment of silence for Parkland victims," 14 Mar. 2018
Invariably, final communiques are couched in bland terms to cover up differences that always exist between participants.

— ciara nugent, Time, "'An Unprecedented Scandal': How Newspapers Around the World Reacted to Trump's Behavior at the G-7 Summit," 11 June 2018
Yet in this series, the drama seems somehow artificial—couched in the fact that one of these teams is decidedly better than the other.

— rob mahoney, SI.com, "Stephen Curry's Shooting Bucks Conventional Math, Breaks Cavs' Resolve in Game 2," 4 June 2018
That statement was couched in a footnote on the 45th page of a 92-page disclosure.

— washington post, latimes.com, "Trump financial report shows reimbursement to lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid porn star Stormy Daniels," 16 May 2018
Tellingly, Sadr already then couched his rebellion in nationalist terms.

— thanassis cambanis, BostonGlobe.com, "How did Iraq’s Moqtada al-Sadr become a statesman? People just got used to him," 26 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'couch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.