reach
/ɹiːt͡ʃ/ verb, noun, proper noun
Also a form of retch
Forms reaches reaching reached raught rought retcht reachest reachedst raughtest retchtest reacheth
- verb (intransitive) To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand). “He reached for a weapon that was on the table.”
- verb (transitive) To give to someone by stretching out a limb, especially the hand; to give with the hand; to pass to another person; to hand over. “to reach someone a book”
- verb (intransitive) To stretch out the hand.
- verb (transitive) To attain or obtain by stretching forth the hand; to extend some part of the body, or something held, so as to touch, strike, grasp, etc. “to reach an object with the hand, or with a spear”
- verb (transitive, of a missile) To strike or touch. “His bullet reached its intended target.”
- verb (transitive, by extension) To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut.
- verb (transitive) To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent. “his hand reaches the river”
- verb (transitive) To arrive at (a place) by effort of any kind. “After three years, he reached the position of manager.”
- noun The act of stretching or extending; extension.
- noun The ability to reach or touch with the person, a limb, or something held or thrown. “The fruit is beyond my reach.”
- noun The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
- noun Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
- noun (informal) An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch. “To call George eloquent is certainly a reach.”
- noun (boxing) The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
- noun (nautical) Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
- noun (nautical) The distance traversed between tacks.
- proper noun A village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL5666).
- proper noun A former township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada, now part of the township of Scugog.
Synonyms
contact get hold of get in touch link up range scope orbit compass ambit reaching stretch grasp make attain hit arrive at gain reach out get through achieve accomplish extend to touch get to progress to pass hand pass on turn over give
Etymology
From Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣċan (“to reach”), from Proto-West Germanic *raikijan, from Proto-Germanic *raikijaną, from the Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- (“to bind, reach”).
Cognate with Dutch reiken, German reichen.
From Japanese 立直 (rīchi), from Chinese 立直 (lìzhí).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An effort to vomit. [R.]
- verb To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like.
- verb Hence, to deliver by stretching out a member, especially the hand; to give with the hand; to pass to another; to hand over; as, to reach one a book.
- verb To stretch out the hand.
Etymology [OE. rechen, AS. ræcan, ræcean, to extend, stretch out; akin to D. reiken, G. reichen, and possibly to AS. rice powerful, rich, E. rich. sq. root115.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “reach”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details