1
as in landing
to come to rest after descending from the air
pigeons perching on the roof
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nestling
to establish or place comfortably or snugly
perched the baby in a basket
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of perching
In 2025, there was the Owl Arm Trend, in which Gen Z TikTokers contorted their bodies (and stretched their T-shirts) to mimic the shape of a perching owl, clinging to their friend’s arm.
—
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Other photos show it while perching on the plant.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
TikTok users were able to see two cats perching over a bathroom sink, which had been filled with tap water.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
In the case of turkeys, perching in the trees could signal snowfall, folklore says.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2025
The gains in efficiency are offset by the loss in precision and by the costs of takeoff and landing, just as in the case of a perching robot.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Mar. 2016
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Other photos show it while perching on the plant.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
TikTok users were able to see two cats perching over a bathroom sink, which had been filled with tap water.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
In the case of turkeys, perching in the trees could signal snowfall, folklore says.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2025
The gains in efficiency are offset by the loss in precision and by the costs of takeoff and landing, just as in the case of a perching robot.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Mar. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perching
Verb
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The Artemis 2 astronauts won't be landing, but will instead circle the moon on a 10-day trip to test systems and hardware for future expeditions to the surface.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
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Shaidarov, 21, delivered a strong free skate, landing five quadruple jumps, as the rest of medal contenders faltered under pressure.—
Isabel Yip,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Cocksuckers, Chuky mumbled, cradling the bottle atop his belly, nestling its spout in his shiny cleavage.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Forget last-gasp 30-yard thunderbolts nestling in the top corner.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress trees are common homes for roosting monarchs, as those tree species provide adequate shelter from weather and predators.—
Chelsee Lowe,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
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The county said construction for the park would not take place within 200 feet of roosting sites for the bat, but provided no evidence to support that as a proper buffer, adding another inadequacy to the environmental review, Bacal said.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The other is in the South Bay, lodging at Hilton’s Signia hotel in San Jose and practicing at San Jose State’s Spartan Soccer Complex just south of the university campus.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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According to Delaware North’s website, its parks and resorts subsidiary provides services in seven national parks and operates lodging in five communities near parks, including Yosemite.—
Rachel Frazin,
The Hill,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Images showed Kim in a black jacket, alighting a mobile missile launcher near the main stage as thousands of people waved small North Korean flags.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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Over the course of extended scenes, the eye roams the frame, alighting on the pop of natural and manmade details alike.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tesh himself has been positioning to capitalize, taking steps to secure and strategically manage the intellectual property behind his enduring sports anthem.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
17 Feb. 2026
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The correspondence shows D’Agostino positioning himself as a bridge between Epstein and Venezuela’s political and financial elite between 2012 and 2018, before Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on the country’s oil industry.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
Verb
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Ireland, the Steelers and the Rooney connection The Rooney family, the Steelers’ majority owners, trace their roots to Ireland, where their ancestors emigrated from in the 1840s before eventually settling in Pittsburgh.—
Tom Chitty,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
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Tripp’s writing has become less brutally pointed as his music has become looser, settling into a form of vibey psych-rock that’s nearly unrecognizable from Angel Du$t’s Ramones-via-Bad Brains origins.—
Eli Enis,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perching. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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