couch

UK: /ˈkaʊtʃ/ US: /kaʊtʃ/ ,(kouch or, for 6, 15, ko̅o̅ch)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

couch /kaʊtʃ/   n. [countable]

1. Furniture a long piece of furniture for seating, typically having a back and an armrest;
   sofa.
2. Furniture a long, upholstered seat with a headrest at one end, on which a person lies down during psychoanalysis.

v. 

3. to arrange or frame (words, etc.) in a certain way;
   express indirectly:
   [~ + object] couching a threat in pleasant words.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

couch  (kouch or, for 6, 15, ko̅o̅ch), n. 

1. Furniture a piece of furniture for seating from two to four people, typically in the form of a bench with a back, sometimes having an armrest at one or each end, and partly or wholly upholstered and often fitted with springs, tailored cushions, skirts, etc.;
   sofa.
2. Furniture a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.
3. Furniture a bed or other place of rest;
   a lounge;
   any place used for repose.
4. the lair of a wild beast.
5. Wine [Brewing.] the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.
6. Printing [Papermaking.] the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.
7. Fine Art a primer coat or layer, as of paint.
8. on the couch, [Informal.] undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.

v.t. 

9. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.);
   put into words;
   express:
   a simple request couched in respectful language.
10. to express indirectly or obscurely:
    the threat couched under his polite speech.
11. to lower or bend down, as the head.
12. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
13. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep;
    cause to lie down.
14. to lay or spread flat.
15. Printing [Papermaking.] to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
16. Clothing to embroider by couching.
17. [Archaic.] to hide;
    conceal.

v.i. 

18. to lie at rest or asleep;
    repose;
    recline.
19. to crouch;
    bend;
    stoop.
20. to lie in ambush or in hiding;
    lurk.
21. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.

• Latin collocāre to put into place, equivalent. to col- col- + locāre to put, place; see locate
• Anglo-French, Old French coucher, Old French colcher
• Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of coucher; (verb, verbal) Middle English couchen
• (noun, nominal) Middle English couche 1300–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

couch / kaʊtʃ/ noun

1. a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person
2. a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst

verb

1. (transitive) to express in a particular style of language: couched in an archaic style
2. (when tr, usually reflexive or passive) to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep
3. (intransitive) to lie in ambush; lurk
4. (transitive) to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye
5. (transitive) to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French couche a bed, lair, from coucher to lay down, from Latin collocāre to arrange, from locāre to place; see locate