Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A compartment on a European passenger train equipped with four to six berths for sleeping.
  • noun A sleeping berth in one of these compartments.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A compartment on a passenger train having berths for sleeping.
  • noun A berth in such a compartment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a compartment on a European passenger train; contains 4 to 6 berths for sleeping

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, diminutive of couche, bed, from Old French; see couch.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French couchette.

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Examples

  • If you're in Scandinavia, try booking a sleeping berth - called a "couchette" - on a night train for a reasonable $30 to $50.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Prices should be around £120-£165pp return for daytime travel, and £165-£200 return for overnight in a six-berth couchette.

    Pre-season ski news Gemma Bowes 2010

  • Sharing a couchette with five strangers was hardly deluxe travel, but especially in the age before mobile phones, it often fostered moments of true camaraderie.

    Life in Italy Takes On a Faster Tempo Francis X. Rocca 2012

  • You can purchase a return train ticket from London to Madrid through Rail Europe (0844 848 4070), travelling on the Elipsos Train Hotel from £202 return per person with accommodation in a four-berth couchette.

    Cycling Spain's ancient Via de la Plata 2010

  • Of course there was the dreaded train ride back despite getting a couchette, I was starting to get sick and threw up twice on the ride but I think I covered almost everything.

    Archive 2009-02-01 Tim Hartman - Cameroon 2009

  • Of course there was the dreaded train ride back despite getting a couchette, I was starting to get sick and threw up twice on the ride but I think I covered almost everything.

    The North, Part III - The EXTREME Tim Hartman - Cameroon 2009

  • I splurged on a first-class couchette – so I had a compartment to myself.

    The Woman in the Fifth Douglas Kennedy 2007

  • I splurged on a first-class couchette – so I had a compartment to myself.

    The Woman in the Fifth Douglas Kennedy 2007

  • I splurged on a first-class couchette – so I had a compartment to myself.

    The Woman in the Fifth Douglas Kennedy 2007

  • I splurged on a first-class couchette – so I had a compartment to myself.

    The Woman in the Fifth Douglas Kennedy 2007

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