couch potato
4 synonyms and 3 antonyms for couch potato, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A person who spends a great deal of time sitting watching television or screens and takes very little exercise.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
gym rat
fitness fanatic
go-getter
How to use couch potato
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
a bit of a couch potato
turn into a couch potato
couch potato lifestyle
Informal but entirely mainstream, including in health campaigns and news writing.
Etymology
Formed from couch and potato; it was coined by Tom Iacino in 1976 as a pun on boob tuber (from boob tube (“television”) and tuber (“potato”)), and was trademarked by Robert Armstrong from 1976 to 1991.
Full origin of couch potato →Frequently asked questions
Is couch potato an insult?
It is mildly insulting but usually affectionate or self-deprecating. People happily call themselves couch potatoes, which they would not do with a harsher word like 'slob'.
What is the British equivalent of couch potato?
British English uses couch potato freely, and also 'sofa spud' as a playful variant. 'Telly addict' covers similar ground with more emphasis on the watching than the sitting.
Why is it called a couch potato?
The image combines the couch that the person never leaves with a potato as a shapeless, inert vegetable — with a pun on the old slang term for a television as the boob tube. It is a late-twentieth-century American coinage.
