perch
part of speech
noun (a perch, perches; fish plural perch or perches); verb (perch, perches, perched, perching)
meaning for a pupil
1) A perch is a branch, bar or stick where a bird sits. tree →
2) To perch means to sit on something high or narrow, the way a bird does. tree →
3) To perch something is to put it in a high or wobbly place. tree →
4) A perch is also a freshwater fish with spiny fins that people catch and eat. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, birds such as sparrows are called perching birds because their feet grip branches. In stories, a character «perched on a stool» sits lightly or on the edge, often nervous or watchful. Pet budgies have a perch in their cage. Anglers catch perch in lakes and rivers.
examples
- The parrot hopped onto its wooden perch. tree →
- A robin perched on the garden fence. tree →
- I perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for news. tree →
- His glasses were perched on the end of his nose. tree →
- The castle was perched on top of a steep hill. tree →
- Dad caught three perch at the lake. tree →
- Owls watch for mice from a high perch. tree →
- The raven perched upon a tree very joyfully. tree →
note
Verb past: perched. As a fish the plural is often the same: «three perch». «Perched» often means sitting not fully settled. Do not confuse with «porch» (a covered entrance of a house) or «purge».
In the corpora
- When a perching bird bends its legs, tendons pull its toes tight round the branch, so it can sleep without falling off.
- Parrots and toucans have two toes pointing forward and two pointing back, while most perching birds have three forward and one back.
- A great bustard has three toes on each foot and no back toe, because it walks on open ground and never perches.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «perch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.