couch
/ˈkaʊ̯t͡ʃ/noun, verb
couch is spelled C-O-U-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, couch means “An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of couch is couches.
How many letters and syllables are in couch?
| Letters | 5: C-O-U-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is couch?
Couch appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce couch?
- US /ˈkaʊ̯t͡ʃ/
- /ˈkɐʊ̯t͡ʃ/
- /ˈkɜʊ̯t͡ʃ/
Couch has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-couch.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-couch.wav, En-au-couch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with couch?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as couch from its last stressed vowel (/aʊtʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of couch
- couches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- couching participle, present
- couched participle, past
- cowch
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does couch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
AustraliaCanadaIrelandUSAn item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.
- 2
A bed, a resting-place.
- 3
The den of an otter.
- 4
A preliminary layer, as of colour or size.
- 5
A mass of steeped barley spread upon a floor to germinate, in malting; or the floor occupied by the barley.
a couch of malt
- 6
Psychotherapy.
He spent years on the couch going over his traumatic childhood.
- 7
Voters who opt out of voting, usually by staying home on their couch.
If Kamala Harris replaces Joe Biden in the 2024 election, analysts warn that she will lose to the couch.
- 8
Couch grass, a species of persistent grass, Elymus repens, usually considered a weed.
verb
- 1
To lie down; to recline (upon a couch or other place of repose).
- 2
To bend the body, as in reverence, pain, labor, etc.; to stoop; to crouch.
- 3
To lay something upon a bed or other resting place.
- 4
To arrange or dispose as if in a bed.
[T]he Sea and the Land make one Globe, and the waters couch themſelves, as cloſe as may be, to the Center of this Globe in a Spherical convexity; ſo that if all the Mountains and Hills were ſcal'd, and the Earth made even, the Waters would
- 5
To lay or deposit in a bed or layer; to bed.
It is, at this Day, in uſe, in Gaza, to couch Pot-Sheards or Veſſels of Earth, in their Walls, to gather the Wind from the top, and to paſſe it downe in Spouts into Roomes. It is a Device for Freſhneſſe, in great Heats; […]
- 6
To lower (a spear or lance) to the position of attack.
- 7
In the treatment of a cataract in the eye, to displace the opaque lens with a sharp object such as a needle. The technique is regarded as largely obsolete.
- 8
To transfer (for example, sheets of partly dried pulp) from the wire mould to a felt blanket for further drying.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Couch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sofa, canapé , formuler, rédiger |
| German | Sofa, Couch |
| Portuguese | sofá, cadeirão , escrever, estilizar |
| Spanish | sofá, sillón, couch |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does couch come from?
From Middle English couche, cowche, from Old French couche, from the verb (see below). Doublet of cwtch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).