Illustration of perch
- 3perch 1a
1
: a bar or peg on which something is hung
2
a
: a roost for a bird
b
: a resting place or vantage point : seat
c
: a prominent position
his new perch as president
3
chiefly British
: rod sense 2
perched; perching; perches
: to alight, settle, or rest on a perch, a height, or a precarious spot
: to place on a perch, a height, or a precarious spot
plural perch or perches
1
a
: a small European freshwater bony fish (Perca fluviatilis of the family Percidae, the perch family)
b
2
: any of numerous bony fishes (as of the families Percidae, Centrarchidae, and Serranidae)
Synonyms
Examples of perch in a Sentence
Verb
pigeons perching on the roof
perched the baby in a basket
Recent Examples on the Web
Laurie Kellman, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
This was on an afternoon in late March, and Wiig and Rudolph, who specialize in lighter, glass-free fare, were perched high over New York in the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel with a zillion-dollar view — rooftops, rivers, the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Tweed, an environmental Ph.D. student at the University of Queensland, initially took the mystery object — perched on a nearby leaf — for nothing more than bird droppings.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
In videos of cars screeching in circles, with music thumping and headlights illuminating the spinning and the spectators, there was Diamond perched on the edge of the passenger window, her long black hair swirling in the wind.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
An enjoyer of the finer things in life, the gorgeous cat loves watching birds through the window while perched in her favorite kitty condo.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024
The landslide has already damaged some homes and recently forced the closure of the historic Wayfarers Chapel, a popular wedding site perched on a hillside overlooking the ocean.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
She is also believed to be the brains behind Myanmar’s most notorious scam center, KK Park, a knot of beige concrete blocks perched on Moei River that separates the nation’s Myawaddy region from Thailand.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Keep cotton swabs, cotton balls, bandages, and more in tiny decorative boxes perched on floating shelves.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2024
Mallory Moench, TIME, 6 Apr. 2024
Crayfish, shad, bluegill, perch, goby, and herring are among some of the more popular bass prey.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2024
Look for large freshwater bream, small silvery common roach or perch with spiny dorsal fins.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The emptying of the reservoirs, which began in January, is estimated to have released as much as 2.3 million tons of sediment into the river, abruptly worsening its water quality and killing nonnative perch, bluegill and bass that had been introduced in the reservoirs for fishing.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Rafiki loves to play hide and seek (this adorable guy is nicknamed Houdini) and loves to jump on tall perches.
—The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024
According to feng shui experts, ideal perches for any award are the office and living room, never isolated and instead surrounded by other accolades, decorative items and personal mementos.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024
From her perch on the metafictional scaffolding, Alexis provides occasional commentary in the form of footnotes, often attacking Emi’s literal approach to translation (or Emi in general) and advocating for her own more contextual translation style.
—Nathan Jeffers, Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024
This feeder also has five feeding ports in the shape of red flowers and a circular perch, too.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 27 Mar. 2024
Verb
Artists perched around Bellerby's London studio painstakingly blend and apply paint — dreamy cobalt and mint for the oceans, yellow, greens and ochre for the landscape.
—Laurie Kellman, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
This was on an afternoon in late March, and Wiig and Rudolph, who specialize in lighter, glass-free fare, were perched high over New York in the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel with a zillion-dollar view — rooftops, rivers, the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Tweed, an environmental Ph.D. student at the University of Queensland, initially took the mystery object — perched on a nearby leaf — for nothing more than bird droppings.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
In videos of cars screeching in circles, with music thumping and headlights illuminating the spinning and the spectators, there was Diamond perched on the edge of the passenger window, her long black hair swirling in the wind.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
An enjoyer of the finer things in life, the gorgeous cat loves watching birds through the window while perched in her favorite kitty condo.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024
The landslide has already damaged some homes and recently forced the closure of the historic Wayfarers Chapel, a popular wedding site perched on a hillside overlooking the ocean.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
She is also believed to be the brains behind Myanmar’s most notorious scam center, KK Park, a knot of beige concrete blocks perched on Moei River that separates the nation’s Myawaddy region from Thailand.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Keep cotton swabs, cotton balls, bandages, and more in tiny decorative boxes perched on floating shelves.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2024
Noun
In the 2017 eclipse, scientists tracked that many flying creatures began returning to the ground or other perches up to 50 minutes before totality.
—Mallory Moench, TIME, 6 Apr. 2024
Crayfish, shad, bluegill, perch, goby, and herring are among some of the more popular bass prey.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2024
Look for large freshwater bream, small silvery common roach or perch with spiny dorsal fins.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The emptying of the reservoirs, which began in January, is estimated to have released as much as 2.3 million tons of sediment into the river, abruptly worsening its water quality and killing nonnative perch, bluegill and bass that had been introduced in the reservoirs for fishing.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Rafiki loves to play hide and seek (this adorable guy is nicknamed Houdini) and loves to jump on tall perches.
—The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024
According to feng shui experts, ideal perches for any award are the office and living room, never isolated and instead surrounded by other accolades, decorative items and personal mementos.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024
From her perch on the metafictional scaffolding, Alexis provides occasional commentary in the form of footnotes, often attacking Emi’s literal approach to translation (or Emi in general) and advocating for her own more contextual translation style.
—Nathan Jeffers, Hazlitt, 28 Feb. 2024
This feeder also has five feeding ports in the shape of red flowers and a circular perch, too.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English perche, from Anglo-French, from Latin pertica pole
Noun (2)
Middle English perche, from Anglo-French, from Latin perca, from Greek perkē; akin to Old High German faro colored, Latin porcus, a spiny fish
First Known Use
Noun (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Noun (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of perch was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing perch
Dictionary Entries Near perch
Cite this Entry
“Perch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perch. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
perch
1 of 3 noun1
: a roost for a bird
2
: a raised seat or position
perch
2 of 3 verb1
: to place on a perch
2
: to land, settle, or rest on or as if on a perch
perch
3 of 3 noun
plural perch or perches
1
: a common North American freshwater fish that is yellowish with dark green vertical stripes and is a popular food and sport fish
called also yellow perch
2
: any of various fishes related to or resembling the perch
Etymology
Noun
Middle English perche "a peg on which something is hung," from early French perche (same meaning), from Latin pertica "pole"
Noun
Middle English perche "a kind of fish," from early French perche (same meaning), from Latin perca (same meaning), from Greek perkē "perch (fish)"
More from Merriam-Webster on perch
Nglish: Translation of perch for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of perch for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about perch
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share