poach¹ / pōch/ • v. [tr.] cook (an egg), without its shell, in or over boiling water: [as adj.] (poached) a breakfast of poached egg and grilled bacon. ∎  cook by simmering in a small amount of liquid: poach the salmon in the white wine.poach² • v. [tr.] 1. illegally hunt or catch (game or fish) on land that is not one's own, or in contravention of official protection. ∎  take or acquire in an unfair or clandestine way: employers risk having their newly trained workers poached by other companies. ∎  [intr.] (in ball games) take a shot that a partner or teammate would have expected to take.2. (of an animal) trample or cut up (turf) with its hoofs. ∎  [intr.] (of land) become sodden by being trampled.PHRASES: poach on someone's territory encroach on someone else's rights.

poach1 cook (an egg) by dropping it without the shell into boiling water. XV. — OF. pochier (mod. pocher) orig. enclose in a bag, f. poche bag, pocket, POKE1.

poach To cook for a short time in a shallow layer of liquid kept at a temperature just below boiling point.

poach2 encroach or trespass on land, etc., spec. steal game. XVII. perh. — (O)F. pocher in spec. use of ‘pocket’; see prec.