support consisting of a branch or rod that serves as a resting place (especially for a bird)
"The robin hopped from leaf to leaf until it found a sturdy twig on the fence to serve as its perch."
an elevated place serving as a seat
"The cat climbed onto the high branch to perch and watch the birds below."
any of numerous fishes of America and Europe
"After a long day at work, I headed to the local lake hoping to catch some perch for dinner."
spiny-finned freshwater food and game fishes
"The angler carefully selected a perch from his tackle box to ensure he had enough bait for the day's fishing trip."
any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of various families of the order Perciformes
"The angler caught a perch near the reeds while fishing in the lake."
Any of the three species of spiny-finned freshwater fish in the genus Perca.
"The robin hopped onto the broken branch to use it as its nightly perch before tucking into sleep."
A rod, staff, or branch of a tree etc used as a roost by a bird.
To rest on a perch (especially, of a bird); to roost.
"The tired sparrow hopped onto its favorite branch to perch for the night."
A surname.
"The local news report mentioned that John Perch was running for school board again."
The word perch comes from the Latin perca and Ancient Greek pérkē, originally referring to the fish. Its root is linked to the Proto-Indo-European *perḱ-, which also gave rise to words for trout in Old English and German.