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)
Examples of perch in a Sentence
Verb
pigeons perching on the roof
perched the baby in a basket
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Steven Green,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2026
The menu here celebrates local and European ingredients, from Swiss cheeses presented on a trolley to mountain perch and winter truffles.
—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Travel + Leisure,
28 June 2026
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
4 July 2026
Marie, perched between Lake Superior and Lake Huron and adjacent to its Canadian twin city of the same name.
—
Katy Spratte Joyce,
Travel + Leisure,
3 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for perch
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Noun
One of the site’s 36 pillars — the tallest one in the middle — could be a perch for a big, pink, screeching bird.
—
Ryan Steven Green,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2026
The menu here celebrates local and European ingredients, from Swiss cheeses presented on a trolley to mountain perch and winter truffles.
—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Travel + Leisure,
28 June 2026
Verb
McGinley photographed models cavorting naked (always naked) through sand dunes in the Mojave Desert and pine forests in Vermont, in a frigid ice cave in upstate New York and perched above a rushing waterfall in Tennessee.
—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
4 July 2026
Marie, perched between Lake Superior and Lake Huron and adjacent to its Canadian twin city of the same name.
—
Katy Spratte Joyce,
Travel + Leisure,
3 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for perch
Cite this Entry
“Perch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perch. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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)"
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