outreach
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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:
After years of outreach, she started as his executive assistant at his neurotechnology company Kernel in 2021.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
In a July 2 press briefing, he said, “We have received no information. No updates. If there has been any direct outreach I am unaware of it. I don’t want to speculate about anybody’s health.”
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Among several bilateral agreements, Rahman's outreach to Beijing for help managing the Teesta River and a deal to develop a special economic zone near Mongla port have attracted particular attention.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Participants were recruited locally through both community outreach and online methods.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
Things really start to crumble once the ball is rolling at the outreach, which takes place in a beautiful park.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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
“She has to begin to govern in a way that outreaches to political opponents and also seeks to unify a coalition of supporters,” said Farnsworth of the Council of the Americas.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
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 Corelli, Marie
Definitions 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.
