couch potato
Couch potato (noun) means a person who spends a great deal of time sitting watching television or screens and takes very little exercise. Example: “Three weeks off work and he turned into a complete couch potato.”
How to use couch potato
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomeone who sits watching TV all day instead of moving about.
Informal but entirely mainstream, including in health campaigns and news writing.
The plural is couch potatoes, and the derived noun is 'couch-potato lifestyle' when used before a noun.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Three weeks off work and he turned into a complete _____.
Etymology
From couch + potato; coined by Tom Iacino in 1976 as a pun on boob tuber (from boob tube (“television”) and tuber (“potato”)); trademarked by Robert Armstrong from 1976–91.
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for couch potato
See all rhymes for 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.
What is the meaning of couch potato?
"couch potato" (noun) means a person who spends a great deal of time sitting watching television or screens and takes very little exercise.