poach
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpoʊt͡ʃ/
rhymes: -əʊtʃ
Forms: form: poaches
form: poaching
form: poached
form: poached
Etymology: From Old French pocher, pochier (“to trample, poach into”). Doublet of poke.
Senses: glosses: To trespass on another's property to take fish or game.
examples: text: A 2016 study using carbon dating of more than 200 tusks from seizures spanning nine countries suggested that illegal ivory originates from elephants poached recently, instead of being pilfered from aging stockpiles kept by various nations.
ref: 2021 November 12, Christine Chung, “2 Ivory Smugglers Captured in International Operation, U.S. Says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: To take game or fish illegally.
examples: text: Chelsea's embarrassment was symbolised by Ross Barkley's inexplicable header straight to the feet of Aguero to poach his second and Ilkay Gundogan capped that early blitz with a low drive.
ref: 2019 February 10, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: To take anything illegally or unfairly.
examples: text: to poach in foreign academic disciplines
glosses: To intrude; to interfere; to get involved inappropriately, without welcome.
examples: text: EBay has accused three Amazon managers of illegally conspiring to poach its sellers, escalating a monthslong feud between two of the country’s largest e-commerce companies.
ref: 2019 August 1, Karen Weise, “EBay Accuses Amazon Managers of Conspiring to Poach Its Sellers”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
topics: business
glosses: To entice (an employee or customer) to switch from a competing company to one's own.
examples: text: Cattle coming to drink had punched and poached the river bank into a mess of mud.
text: the poach'd filth that floods the middle street
ref: 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page)”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC:
glosses: To make soft or muddy by trampling.
examples: text: Chalky and clay lands […] chap in summer, and poach in winter.
ref: 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
glosses: To become soft or muddy by being trampled on.
examples: text: They vse alſo to poche them with an instrument somewhat like the Sammon-speare
ref: 1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLC:
text: his horse poching one of his legs into some hollow ground
ref: 1673, William Temple, Observations upon the United Provinces:
text: And the laws of your wrastling are that neither shall strangle his adversary with his hands, nor bite him, nor claw nor scratch his flesh, nor poach out his eyes, nor smite him with his fists, nor do any other unfair thing against him, but in all other respects ye shall wrastle freely together.
ref: 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 20:
text: Mutt Malvern stands with a wicked blade in one hand and, in the other, a three-pronged leister spear of the sort used to poach fish or birds.
ref: 2011, Maggie Stiefvater, The Scorpio Races:
synonyms: word: jab
word: run through
word: chef
word: chib
word: ching
word: chive
word: enthrill
word: foin
word: gore
word: gride
word: jab
word: job
word: juke
word: kebab
word: knifecrime
word: lancinate
word: pigstick
word: pink
word: poach
word: run through
word: shank
word: shiv
word: spear
word: speet
word: splash
word: stab
word: stick
word: stob
word: stog
word: thrust
word: yerk
word: empierce
word: fix
word: impale
word: pierce
word: prick
word: puncture
word: run through
word: stake
word: stick
word: transfix
word: transpierce
glosses: To stab; to pierce; to spear or drive or plunge into something.
Derived terms: poachable
poacher
poachy
pochard
unpoached