perching

verb

present participle of perch
1
as in landing
to come to rest after descending from the air pigeons perching on the roof

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nestling
to establish or place comfortably or snugly perched the baby in a basket

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of perching The bird, which some witnesses guessed was a parrot, was seen perching on people’s heads and line dividers, landing on luggage and carry-on bags and even trying to nip at some travelers. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2026 No club have spent more time perching on the highest rung of English football than Everton. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026 There was a time, the woman said, when rolling down the road meant perching on her husband’s back seat. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 The Ice Dart belongs to a broader push in robotics called perching, an approach borrowed from nature that tries to give drones the ability to grab onto surfaces the way birds, insects, and geckos do. — New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026 Birdwatchers said Kaydee and Shadow have been flying around together for the past couple of days, flying to different trees and sometimes perching themselves on different branches for hours. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026 The space is pristine and remote, surrounded by woods and loons and big muscular-looking boulders for perching on and thinking deep thoughts. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026 Blue dashers perch on short reeds and grasses to wait for prey, but each species of perching dragonfly has its own preference for perch height and type. — Rachel Sargent Mirus, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026 Sandy was spotted later in the day perching on top of a sugar pine tree. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perching
  1. landing
  2. nestling
  3. roosting
  4. lodging
  5. alighting
  6. positioning
  7. parking
  8. settling
Verb
  • New York landing Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker — who has emerged as the draft’s top quarterback prospect — would be a painful blow to Miami, though the Jets have a long tradition of screwing up young QBs.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2026
  • China’s program has been largely opaque NASA has set a target of landing humans on the Moon by 2028, a year or so ahead of China.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of landing
Verb
  • Add a striking focal point by nestling a statue fountain between groups of colorful flowers or lively foliage.
    — Savanna Bous, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Game by game, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is nestling himself into historical statistical company alongside some of the most vaunted NBA names ever.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 19 May 2026
Definition of nestling
Verb
  • With the construction of homes, stadiums and other buildings throughout the county, bats have adapted to roosting in spaces such as the eaves of homes or in crawl spaces, Curti said.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Though monarchs migrate alone, they are often seen huddled in trees roosting.
    — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of roosting
Verb
  • The tax would be paid by lodging guests, not directly by property owners, and would remain in place until ended by voters.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • That officer then shot into Perez's vehicle, lodging a bullet in his back, officials say.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of lodging
Verb
  • Their gaze is increasingly alighting on Europe, the world’s second-largest consumer market.
    — JONAS NAHM, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2026
  • This shimmering, sonorous work, from one of our greatest living directors, moves through the peculiar landscapes of human interaction with certainty, eccentricity and grace, alighting on a generous if rueful conclusion.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of alighting
Verb
  • The company is positioning the feature as a way to make financial information easier to understand, rather than as a financial management or investment service.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Speaking to the Tribune before the taping, BET Networks president and West Side native Louis Carr said that the Soul Train Awards were coming to Chicago in a time when the city is positioning itself to be a major international player.
    — Mark P. Braboy, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of positioning
Verb
  • Try to keep parking clear in front of your home so that workers are less likely to park elsewhere.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of parking
Verb
  • Canadian visits to the US peaked at nearly 80 million in the early 1990s before settling at around 40 million a year in subsequent decades.
    — Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The offensive line, which gave up three first-half sacks against Pittsburgh last weekend before settling in later in the game, will face a stout test in the Tar Heels’ defensive front.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of settling

Browse Nearby Words

perches
perching
percipience
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Perching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perching. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All