couch

verb \ ˈkau̇ch \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

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

News of the escape made national news when the sheriff’s department posted an eerie photo on Facebook of the kangaroo couched in the darkness, its eyes glowing yellow.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "Rascally kangaroo escapes his SC pen for second time this week -- and no one knows how | Charlotte Observer," 17 May 2018
Israeli newspapers on Tuesday, contrasted the upbeat inauguration ceremony for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem with pictures of the violence on the border but couched it in terms of the country protecting itself.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Toll for Gaza protests rises to 61 as baby dies from tear gas, with more protests expected," 15 May 2018
Yet amid this Boy Scout good behaviour, the wildcatter spirit remains—all couched in typical industry hyperbole.

— The Economist, "American shale-oil producers are on a roll," 10 May 2018
His Fall 2017 collection was a subtle protest against fashion industry waste couched in some seriously cool outerwear.

— nicole phelps, Vogue, "The Moschino Looks Jeremy Scott Should Reboot at H&M," 15 Apr. 2018
Nearly all the mass shootings in recent years have been couched in reactionary politics of one stripe another, either Islamist militancy or homegrown American white supremacy.

— jason christian, The New Republic, "Confessions of a Former Left-Wing Gun Nut," 29 Mar. 2018
But Burton took to her Instagram announcement mindfully, couching her excitement with a supportive message to others struggling with fertility.

— andrea mandell, USA TODAY, "Hilarie Burton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan welcome 'miracle baby' in honest post about fertility," 6 Mar. 2018
But while all of those things may be true, the attacks Jones has faced this summer can't just be couched as mean-spiritedness.

— kendra james, Cosmopolitan, ""Harassment" Doesn't Fully Capture What's Happening to Leslie Jones. "Hate Crime" Seems More Fitting.," 26 Aug. 2016
Relatedly, most mass movements, while aiming to counteract some of the horrors of the Trump administration, have been content to couch their messaging in broad, fuzzy terms.

— julianne tveten, The New Republic, "How corporate America has commodified the protest movements of the Trump era," 4 Apr. 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.