couching

Pluralcouchings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of couch. Use this form for an ongoing action, often after a form of "to be."

   She was couching her advice in friendly, careful words.

   He kept couching the bad news in jokes to soften it.

   Note
2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The act of laying something down flat, or of lying down to rest.

   Like spreading a blanket flat across a bed.

   The neat couching of the straw made a soft bed for the animals.

   Workers practiced the slow couching of each tile in even rows.

   Similarlaying, placement

   Note
3. 3
   noununcountable

   A way of sewing where threads are laid on top of the cloth and held down with small stitches, not pulled through.

   Like taping a ribbon onto paper with small stitches instead of pulling it through.

   She used couching to attach the thick gold thread to the cloth.

   The pillow's wide border was decorated with bright couching.

   Note
4. 4
   noununcountable

   An old way of treating a clouded eye lens by pushing it aside with a sharp tool.

   Like pushing a foggy pane of glass out of the way so you can see through the opening.

   Long ago, doctors used couching to help people with cloudy eyes see again.

   Couching was risky and often left the patient with poor sight.

   Note

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