reach

[ reech ]

/ ritʃ /

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See synonyms for: reach / reached / reaches / reaching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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.

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR reach

1 attain.

24 area, sphere, scope.

See synonyms for reach on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of reach

before 900; (v.) Middle English rechen,Old English rǣcan (cognate with German reichen,Dutch reiken); (noun) derivative of the v.

synonym study for reach

See grasp.

OTHER WORDS FROM reach

reach·a·ble, adjectivereach·a·bil·i·ty, nounreacher, nounun·reach·a·ble, adjective

un·reached, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reach in a sentence

In fact, so much has been made so fast and by so few relatively, that it’s easy to wonder if greater equality is now forever out of reach.
Writer Anand Giridharadas on tech’s billionaires: “Are they even on the same team as us?”|Connie Loizos|September 25, 2020|TechCrunch
One end connects to a root, the other to a store of minerals often beyond the physical reach of roots.
Junk Food Is Bad For Plants, Too - Issue 90: Something Green|Anne Biklé & David R. Montgomery|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
At that point a gold medal may still be far out of reach, but at least Lean could line up for the race.
At the Math Olympiad, Computers Prepare to Go for the Gold - Facts So Romantic|Kevin Hartnett|September 22, 2020|Nautilus
Instagram is “probably our best performing channel from a reach and engagement standpoint followed closely by Twitter,” said Chang.
‘Doubling down’: Inside the 49ers social and digital rush to replace lost in-stadium marketing dollars|Kristina Monllos|September 22, 2020|Digiday

Walmart said in a statement on Saturday that it expects the deal will provide it with “an important way for us to expand our reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace, fulfillment and advertising businesses.”
TikTok’s unusual spinoff: 4 outstanding advertiser concerns|Lara O'Reilly|September 22, 2020|Digiday
With that said, Paul had the right idea: There is a reachable constituency for conservative politics in the black community.
The RNC Celebrates MLK Jr. and How Republicans Can Win Black Voters|Jamelle Bouie|August 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sadly no insurance, but he makes up for it by being reachable just about 24/7.
Gal With a Suitcase: New York's Best Pampering Spots|Jolie Hunt|February 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He waited temptingly in reachable places and even lured one of his enemies to attack him.
Tam O' The Scoots|Edgar Wallace
For prayer in its simplest conception supposes something changed that is not otherwise reachable.
Quiet Talks on Prayer|S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon
Probably not—Eddorian surveys had found no trace of any such life in any reachable plenum.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
He pats a building at its reachable point—a stone balustrade at a step corner.
Somehow Good|William de Morgan
Neither set of followers was reachable by the other propaganda.
Sinn Fein|P. S. O'Hegarty

British Dictionary definitions for reach

reach

/ (riːtʃ) /

verb

(tr) to arrive at or get to (a place, person, etc) in the course of movement or actionto 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 operationthe Roman conquest reached throughout England

(tr) informal to pass or give (something to a person) with the outstretched handto reach someone a book

(intr ; foll by out, for, or after) to make a movement (towards), as if to grasp or touchto reach for something on a shelf

(intr ; foll by for or after) to strive or yearnto 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

noun

the act of reaching

the extent or distance of reachingwithin 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

Derived forms of reach

reachable, adjectivereacher, noun

Word Origin for reach

Old English rǣcan; related to Old Frisian rēka, Old High German reihhen

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

reach

In addition to the idiom beginning with reach

reach for the sky

also see:

boardinghouse reach
get to (reach) first base
in reach

reach

OTHER WORDS FOR reach

Origin of reach

synonym study for reach

OTHER WORDS FROM reach

Words related to reach

How to use reach in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reach

Derived forms of reach

Word Origin for reach

Other Idioms and Phrases with reach