overreach

[ oh-ver-reech ]

/ ˌoʊ vərˈritʃ /

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See synonyms for: overreach / overreaching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to reach or extend over or beyond: The shelf overreached the nook and had to be planed down.

to go beyond, as a thing aimed at or sought: an arrow that had overreached the target.

to stretch to excess, as by a straining effort: to overreach one's arm and strain a muscle.

to defeat (oneself) by overdoing matters, often by excessive eagerness or cunning: In trying to promote disunity he had overreached himself.

to strain or exert (oneself or itself) to the point of exceeding the purpose.

to get the better of, especially by deceit or trickery; outwit: Every time you deal with them you wonder if they're overreaching you.

to overtake.

Obsolete. to overpower.

verb (used without object)

to reach or extend over something.

to reach too far: In grabbing for the rope he overreached and fell.

to cheat others.

(of a running or walking horse) to strike, or strike and injure, the forefoot with the hind foot.

Nautical. to sail on a tack longer than is desirable or was intended; overstand.

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Origin of overreach

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at over-, reach

OTHER WORDS FROM overreach

o·ver·reach·er, noun

Words nearby overreach

overqualified, overquick, overrake, overrate, overrated, overreach, overreact, overrefine, overrefinement, overreliance, overrepresent

How to use overreach in a sentence

There are limits to what we can do and there were terrible consequences for overreaching those limits.
Andrew Sullivan doesn’t care what you think|Chris Johnson|September 22, 2021|Washington Blade
With the changes, consumers become more aware of which companies want access to their data, while Apple can claim it’s protecting users from overreaching companies.
Your iPhone’s Next Software Update Aims to Foil App Trackers and Digital Advertisers. Here’s How|Patrick Lucas Austin|April 13, 2021|Time
There's more unity around the need to go after foreign extremists than domestic ones — and less danger of overreaching and provoking a backlash.
Why domestic terrorists are so hard to police online|Sara Fischer|January 20, 2021|Axios
Both groups lasted significantly longer on the treadmill after the one-week taper, which tells us that they weren’t non-functionally overreached.
How Your Muscle Fibers Might Predict Overtraining|Alex Hutchinson|October 17, 2020|Outside Online

Sure enough, the runners classified as overreaching had a significantly higher proportion of fast-twitch fibers.
How Your Muscle Fibers Might Predict Overtraining|Alex Hutchinson|October 17, 2020|Outside Online
The danger of a potential Republican overreach or overreaction was clearly on the minds of people in both parties Wednesday.
The Coming GOP Freakout Over Immigration|Patricia Murphy|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This entire ordeal reeks of bureaucratic overreach being bandied about in the name of “let-us-save-the-children” politics.
The University Of New Orleans’ Cigarette Ban Is Total BS|Chloé Valdary|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Second is the sense of a deep invasion of privacy and government overreach in their lives.
Hillary's Got a Millennial Problem|Nick Gillespie|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But U.S. intelligence officials say the secret to defeating ISIS may be to wait for its overreach to catch up with it.
ISIS Baffling U.S. Intelligence Agencies|Eli Lake|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At a recent forum, Pompeo said that the president had engaged in “absolute overreach.”
Don’t Be Fooled: The GOP Wants Impeachment|David Freedlander|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It does not anywhere appear that Johann ever attempted to overreach him or lead him to financial injury.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Then said she, 'As to the enchantments and spells that shall overreach him, and as to the blade wherewith to shear him?'
The Shaving of Shagpat, Complete|George Meredith
You are very wise, you have the wisdom of a devil, but even you can overreach yourself.
A Life For a Love|L. T. Meade
It is not an uncommon occurrence for a rascal to overreach himself.
Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891|Various
Traveling expenses to Kansas, and the tracts, make the debtor column overreach the creditor some two thousand dollars.
Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897|Elizabeth Cady Stanton

British Dictionary definitions for overreach

overreach

/ (ˌəʊvəˈriːtʃ) /

verb

(tr) to defeat or thwart (oneself) by attempting to do or gain too much

(tr) to aim for but miss by going too far or attempting too much

to get the better of (a person) by trickery

(tr) to reach or extend beyond or over

(intr) to reach or go too far

(intr) (of a horse) to strike the back of a forefoot with the edge of the opposite hind foot

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

overreach

Origin of overreach

OTHER WORDS FROM overreach

Words nearby overreach

Words related to overreach

How to use overreach in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for overreach