# couch

> English word · Noun · IPA /kaʊt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #5,407

## Definitions
1. An 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.
6. Psychotherapy.
7. Voters who opt out of voting, usually by staying home on their couch.

## Etymology
From Middle English couche, cowche, from Old French couche, from the verb (see below). Doublet of cwtch.

## Easily confused with
- **coup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-coup)
- **cour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-cour)
- **cuck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-cuck)
- **could** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-could)
- **court** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-court)
- **count** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-count)
- **crush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-crush)
- **cough** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-cough)
- **Czech** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-czech)
- **coupe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-coupe)
- **coups** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-coups)
- **cours** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-cours)
- **crunch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-crunch)
- **crotch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-crotch)
- **crouch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-crouch)
- **crutch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-crutch)
- **couches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/couch-vs-couches)
- **CoC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coc-vs-couch)
- **cock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cock-vs-couch)
- **coca** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coca-vs-couch)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ccouch`, `cocuh`, `coucch`, `couchh`, `couhc`, `cuoch`, `ocuch`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/couch