poached; poaching; poaches
: to cook in simmering liquid
poached; poaching; poaches
1
: to encroach upon especially for the purpose of taking something
2
: to trespass for the purpose of stealing game
also
: to take game or fish illegally
1
: to trespass on
a field poached too frequently by the amateur—
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
The Times Literary Supplement (London)2
a
: to take (game or fish) by illegal methods
b
: to appropriate (something) as one's own
c
: to attract (someone, such as an employee or customer) away from a competitor
Examples of poach in a Sentence
Verb (1)
poaching fish in a stock flavored with white wine
Recent Examples on the Web
Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Aside from global trade wars, Khan’s promotion comes after one of the company’s AI darlings was poached by Meta.
—Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 9 July 2025
For folks who need a little more heft, top this salad with your favorite protein, such as shredded rotisserie chicken, poached or pickled shrimp, or even grilled salmon.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 6 July 2025
Sydney agonizes over the question of whether to abandon Carm and the Bear for a more functional (if annoying) chef who’s trying to poach her.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for poach
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
In a surprising move, Cognition– the makers of autonomous coding tool Devin— acquired what was left of its rival Windsurf after the company’s cofounders Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen and other staff members were poached by Google DeepMind for $2.4 billion to improve Gemini’s coding abilities.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Aside from global trade wars, Khan’s promotion comes after one of the company’s AI darlings was poached by Meta.
—Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 9 July 2025
For folks who need a little more heft, top this salad with your favorite protein, such as shredded rotisserie chicken, poached or pickled shrimp, or even grilled salmon.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 6 July 2025
Sydney agonizes over the question of whether to abandon Carm and the Bear for a more functional (if annoying) chef who’s trying to poach her.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for poach
Cite this Entry
“Poach.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poach. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
poach
1 of 2 verb
: to cook in simmering liquid
poached eggs
poach
2 of 2 verb
: to hunt or fish unlawfully
poacher
noun
Etymology
Verb
Middle English pochen "to boil an egg without its shell so that the white covers the yolk like a bag," from early French pocher (same meaning), from earlier pochier, literally, "to put into a bag," from poche "bag, pocket"
Verb
from early French pocher "to hunt or fish unlawfully"
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