reach
to get to or get as far as in moving, going, traveling, etc.: The boat reached the shore.
to come to or arrive at in some course of progress, action, etc.: Your letter never reached me.
to succeed in touching or seizing with an outstretched hand, a pole, etc.: to reach a book on a high shelf.
to stretch or hold out; extend: reaching out a hand in greeting.
to stretch or extend so as to touch or meet: The bookcase reaches the ceiling.
to establish communication with: I called but couldn't reach you.
to amount to, as in the sum or total: The cost will reach millions.
to penetrate to: distant stars the eye cannot reach.
to succeed in striking or hitting, as with a weapon or missile: The artillery fire reached the shore.
to succeed in making contact with, influencing, impressing, interesting, convincing, etc.: a program that reached a large teenage audience.
to make a stretch, as with the hand or arm.
to become outstretched, as the hand or arm.
to make a movement or effort as if to touch or seize something: to reach for a weapon.
to extend in operation or effect: power that reaches throughout the land.
to stretch in space; extend in direction, length, distance, etc.: a coat reaching to the knee;a tower reaching to the skies.
to extend or continue in time.
to get or come to a specified place, person, condition, etc. (often followed by to).
to amount (often followed by to): sums reaching to a considerable total.
to penetrate: Fields of flowers extended as far as the eye could reach.
to assert or agree without certainty or sufficient evidence; infer hastily: I'd be reaching if I said I had the answer to your question.
Nautical.
to sail on a reach.
to sail with the wind forward of the beam but so as not to require sailing close-hauled.
an act or instance of reaching: to make a reach for a gun.
the extent or distance of reaching: within reach of his voice.
range of effective action, power, or capacity.
a continuous stretch or extent of something: a reach of woodland.
Also called pound. a level portion of a canal, between locks.
Nautical. a point of sailing in which the wind is within a few points of the beam, either forward of the beam (close reach ), directly abeam (beam reach ), or abaft the beam (broad reach ).
the pole connecting the rear axle of a wagon to the transverse bar or bolster over the front axle supporting the wagon bed.
a straight portion of a river between two bends.
Origin of reach
1synonym study For reach
Other words for reach
Other words from reach
- reach·a·ble, adjective
- reach·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- reacher, noun
- un·reach·a·ble, adjective
- un·reached, adjective
Words Nearby reach
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use reach in a sentence
Going virtual translates into a global reach making this our largest Disrupt ever.
I swooped my arm in a fluid motion the moment I was within reach, scooping the bird up by its extended legs.
The quest to snare—and save—the world’s largest owl | Jonathan Slaght | August 28, 2020 | Popular-ScienceHowever, if you don’t have that, you can follow these SEO tips we are giving in this article to boost your reach and sales.
Some of those advertisers see Channel 4’s inventory as a way to reach more people who are watching the same TV at the same time, while others see it as a way to extend the reach of larger campaigns.
‘We’ll get briefs we couldn’t access before’: Inside Channel 4’s push for programmatic advertisers | Seb Joseph | August 11, 2020 | DigidaySports is still a hard-to-reach audience, but the audience is still there.
The first thing they told us was that the traffickers are now using Turkish ports, which are relatively easy to reach from Syria.
Or (horrors) he could reach out to congressional leaders in both parties to pursue bipartisan legislation.
He seemed to get a little turned around on the way but managed to reach what might have been presumed to be his destination.
Do we critique those women who would modify themselves just to reach those standards?
Renée Zellweger Got a New Face—and Everyone Had An Opinion About It | Kevin O’Keeffe | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs a well-known advocate for Baluch rights in Iran, young Iranians reach out to him for advice.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan | Umar Farooq | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat which is called nasality is caused by the failure of the tone to reach freely the anterior cavities of the nares.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickIt is to be remembered, however, that a few of these bacteria may reach the sputum from the upper air-passages.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThey will reach you by the hands of Mr. Mackenzie, a worldly-minded Scotch merchant, but honest as to earthly things.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsThere is always in the background of my mind dread lest help should reach the enemy before we have done with Sedd-el-Bahr.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonHe thus decoyed them away, and the fortunate couple were enabled to reach the British lines under cover of the darkness.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for reach
/ (riːtʃ) /
(tr) to arrive at or get to (a place, person, etc) in the course of movement or action: to reach the office
to extend as far as (a point or place): to reach the ceiling; can you reach?
(tr) to come to (a certain condition, stage, or situation): to reach the point of starvation
(intr) to extend in influence or operation: the Roman conquest reached throughout England
(tr) informal to pass or give (something to a person) with the outstretched hand: to reach someone a book
(intr ; foll by out, for, or after) to make a movement (towards), as if to grasp or touch: to reach for something on a shelf
(intr ; foll by for or after) to strive or yearn: to reach for the impossible
(tr) to make contact or communication with (someone): we tried to reach him all day
(tr) to strike, esp in fencing or boxing
(tr) to amount to (a certain sum): to reach the five million mark
(intr) nautical to sail on a tack with the wind on or near abeam
the act of reaching
the extent or distance of reaching: within reach of safety; beyond her reach
the range of influence, power, jurisdiction, etc
an open stretch of water, esp on a river
nautical the direction or distance sailed by a vessel on one tack
a bar on the rear axle of a vehicle connecting it with some part at the front end
television radio the percentage of the population selecting a broadcast programme or channel for more than a specified time during a day or week
marketing the proportion of a market that an advertiser hopes to reach at least once in a campaign
Origin of reach
1Derived forms of reach
- reachable, adjective
- reacher, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with reach
In addition to the idiom beginning with reach
- reach for the sky
also see:
- boardinghouse reach
- get to (reach) first base
- in reach
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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