outreach
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
outreaches
plural
adjective
verb
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(tr) to surpass in reach
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(tr) to go beyond
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to reach or cause to reach out
noun
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the act or process of reaching out
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the length or extent of reach
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social welfare any systematic effort to provide unsolicited and predefined help to groups or individuals deemed to need it
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(modifier) (of welfare work or workers) propagating take-up of a service by seeking out appropriate people and persuading them to accept what is judged good for them Compare detached
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outreach
Explanation
When medical care or other services are delivered to people in their community, it's through outreach. Your local animal shelter might conduct outreach programs to provide affordable vaccines to pet owners. When a person or organization reaches out to others, that's outreach. Churches, political groups, public health departments, and educators all offer outreach, extending some kind of helping hand or useful information to the wider community. You can also use this word to mean "exceed," like when demand for a new gaming console outreaches the available supply, or when a tennis player with longer arms can outreach an opponent by being able to hit a ball from farther away.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Groups across the state have been changing their voter outreach work to comply with SB1.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
“Through meaningful street outreach, stabilization options and supportive housing, the Mamdani administration will help New Yorkers rebuild their lives with the dignity, care and stability they deserve,” a mayoral spokesperson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
"Nepal is actually driving us into how the fund is going to look like when it comes to rapid disbursement modalities," said Brenda Mwale, outreach lead at the Loss and Damage Collaboration.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Plans include a Year of Creative Youth, an Olympic arts education curriculum being developed with the Olympic Museum in Switzerland, and outreach through parks, libraries and cultural venues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The center had a brand-new president whom everyone was raving about, and one of his top priorities was improving community outreach.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Efforts by Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia in recent days were similarly fruitless, people familiar with those outreaches said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Of all the ancient cultures clustered around the eastern half of the Mediterranean Sea, whether Egypt, Greece, Persia or Rome’s imperial outreaches, Thrace is surely the least well-known.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
While the early Christian church was composed almost entirely of Jewish believers in Jesus, present day outreaches to Jews have been controversial.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
The 60-day period of footage shows people moving boxes from the basement storage area around the time of one of the outreaches from the Justice Department.
From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
"Upon my word, your morality almost outreaches your mysticism!" he said.
From Ziska by Marie Corelli
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
