couch potato
Meaning
A person who spends a lot of time sitting/lying on the couch, usually watching TV and being physically inactive.
Origin
Coined in American English in the mid-1970s, popularized by a 1976 newspaper article. It humorously compares a sedentary person to a potato sitting on a couch.
Notes
Often mildly teasing or self-deprecating. Suggests laziness/sedentary habits (often TV). Common in casual speech; avoid in formal or sensitive contexts.
Examples
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After work, I turn into a couch potato and binge-watch shows for hours.
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He’s trying to stop being a couch potato by going for a walk every morning.
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Don’t be a couch potato all weekend—let’s go out and do something.
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I felt like a couch potato during the holidays because I barely left the sofa.
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She jokes that her dog is a couch potato too, always napping next to her.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually a countable noun: “a couch potato,” plural “couch potatoes.” Often used with “be/turn into” (e.g., “become a couch potato”). Occasionally as an attributive noun (“couch-potato habits”).
Synonyms
- slouch
- lazybones
- TV addict
- sedentary person
Antonyms
- active person
- go-getter
- fitness enthusiast