1. Sit, as on a branch
   "The birds perched high in the tree";
   - roost, rest
    
2. To come to rest, settle
   "The hawk perched on the telephone pole";
   - alight, light
    
3. Cause to perch or sit
   "She perched her hat on her head"

1. Support consisting of a branch or rod that serves as a resting place (especially for a bird)
   "The parrot settled comfortably on its perch in the cage"
    
2. An elevated place serving as a seat
   "The bird found a comfortable perch on the highest branch"
    
3. Any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of various families of the order Perciformes
   "The aquarium contained several colourful species of perch"
    
4. Spiny-finned freshwater food and game fishes
   "We caught yellow perch while fishing on the lake"
    
5. Any of numerous fishes of America and Europe
   "We caught several perch while ice fishing on the frozen lake"
    
6. A square rod of land
   "The old deed measured the property in perches";
   - rod [Brit, archaic], pole
    
7. [Brit, archaic] A linear measure of 16.5 feet
   "The field measured 4 perchs in width";
   - rod [Brit, archaic], pole [Brit, archaic]

Derived forms: perched, perches, perching

Type of: area unit, freshwater fish, land, lay, linear measure, linear unit, percoid, percoid fish, percoidean, place, pose, position, put, seat, set, set down, sit, sit down, square measure, support

Part of: European perch, family Percidae, furlong, order Perciformes, order Percomorphi, Perca flavescens, Perca fluviatilis, Percidae, Perciformes, Percomorphi, roost, yellow perch

Encyclopedia: Perch, James