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reach Definition

reach (rēc̸h)

transitive verb

  1. to thrust out or extend (the hand, etc.)
  2. to extend to, or touch, by thrusting out, throwing something, etc.
  3. to obtain and hand over reach me the salt
  4. to go as far as; attain to reach town by night
  5. to carry as far as; penetrate to the news reached him late
  6. to add up to; come to to reach thousands of dollars
  7. to have influence on; affect; impress
  8. to get in touch with, as by telephone

Etymology: ME rechen < OE ræcan, akin to Ger reichen < IE *rēiĝ-, to stretch out, extend the hand, akin to base *reĝ-, straight, stretch, direct > right

intransitive verb

  1. to thrust out the hand, foot, etc.
  2. to stretch, or be extended, in amount, influence, space, time, etc. power that reaches into other lands
  3. to be added; amount (with to or into)
  4. to carry; penetrate, as sight, sound, etc.
  5. to try to obtain something; make an attempt
  6. to try too hard to make a point, joke, etc.
  7. Naut. to sail on a reach

noun

  1. the act of stretching or thrusting out
  2. the power of stretching, obtaining, etc.
  3. the distance or extent covered in stretching, obtaining, influencing, etc.
  4. a continuous, uninterrupted extent or stretch, esp. of water
  5. ☆ a pole joining the rear axle to the forward part of a wagon
  6. Naut. a tack sailed with the wind coming more or less from abeam: it may be a close reach, with the wind forward of the beam; a beam reach, with the wind abeam; or a broad reach, with the wind abaft the beam

  • reabsorb
  • reabsorption
  • reaccept
  • reaccommodate
  • reaccompany
  • reaccredit
  • reaccuse
  • reaccustom
reach Related Forms
reach′er noun
reach Synonyms

reach

n.

compass, range, scope, grasp, ken, influence, extent, limit, stretch, extension, orbit, horizon, gamut; see also ability 1, expanse, extent. See syn. study at range.

reach Synonyms

reach

v.

  1. To extend to

    touch, span, encompass, pass along, continue to, get to, go to, roll on, go on, stretch, go as far as, attain, equal, approach, lead, stand, terminate, end, overtake, join, come up to, penetrate to, spread, sweep; see also spread 3.

  2. To extend a part of the body to

    stretch, lunge, strain, move, reach out, feel for, come at, make contact with, shake hands, throw out a limb, make for, put out, touch, strike, seize, grasp; see also stretch 1.

  3. To arrive

    get to, get as far as, come to, enter; see arrive 1.

  4. To give an object to another

    hand over, relinquish, give over, give away, carry to, turn over, transfer; see also give 1.

  5. To communicate with

    contact, get in touch with, get through to, make an impression on; see communicate 2, influence.

reach Usage Examples

Object

  • conclusion: The Committee did not reach a firm conclusion on how to resolve these issues.
  • agreement: Both, he says, were content to reach agreement on the basis of what they knew.
  • audience: We will reach a whole new audience with this " .
  • height: Monday, August 16, 2005 The external walls have reached roof height.
  • summit: To reach the summit, you would need a full day.
  • consensus: The local authorities ' aim was to reach a consensus on a number of key questions: " What was wrong with existing services?

Subject

  • staircase: The bedrooms are reached by a fairly narrow staircase.
  • ferry: Sark does not have its own airport nor does the harbor have the capacity to be reached by large passenger ferries.

Preposition: into

  • mist: When you reach back into the mists of your most treasured childhood memories, can you recall a favorite toy?

Adjective modifier

  • easy: Sun & Sand Sun worshippers who want duvet soft beaches within easy reach will be spoilt with the endless shores of the Algarve.
  • upper: In the middle section there is still a fair amount of riverside paths but in the upper reaches and tributaries public access is patchy.
  • farthest: Such political maneuvering did, of course, expand British trade to the farthest reaches of the globe.
  • outer: The Natural Habitat of Nelson Mandela house on the outer reaches of Holloway road.
  • northern: Harbor Racing Tips ( 2001 ) - Tim Weedon looks at racing in the northern reaches of the harbor; Emsworth and Chichester.
  • global: With active relationships with some 70 other countries, NGOs and civil society, it has a global reach.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • out: I want to say to them'Don't give up hope reach out to God for His help.

Preposition: of

  • amenity: The house is ideally located moments from local shops and within easy reach of the many amenities of Kingston town center.

Preposition: for

  • plaything: Busy babies will enjoy reaching for the intriguing playthings hanging from the three-dimensional Whoozit® Gym to Go.

Preposition: by

  • staircase: The bedrooms are reached by a fairly narrow staircase.
  • ferry: Sark does not have its own airport nor does the harbor have the capacity to be reached by large passenger ferries.
reach Quotes

With a nation, as with a boxer, one of the greatest assurances of safety is to add reach to power.

—Acheson, Dean Gooderham

Aconspiracy iseverything thatordinary lifeisnot.It'sthe inside game, cold, sure, undistracted, forever closed off to us.We are the flawed ones, the innocents, trying to make some rough sense of the daily jostle.Conspirators have a logic and a daring beyond our reach.

—DeLillo, Don

He disdains all things above his reach, and preferreth all countries before his own.

—Overbury, SirThomas

A woman can hardly ever choose†she is dependent on what happens to her. She must take meaner things, because only meaner things are within her reach.

—Eliot, George pseudonym of  MaryAnn Evans

I am out of humanity's reach.

—Cowper,William

   Religion issomething which stands beyond, behind, and within the passing flux of immediate things; something which is real, and yet waiting to be realized; something which is a remote possibility, and yet the greatest of present facts; something that gives meaning to all that passes, and yet eludes apprehension; something whose possession is the final good, and yet is beyond all reach; something which is the ultimate ideal, and the hopeless quest.

—Whitehead, Alfred North

Seek not, my soul, immortal life, but make the most of the resources that are within your reach.

—Pindar

What we should do, I suggest, is to give up the idea of ultimate sources of knowledge, and admit that all knowledge is human; that it is mixed with our errors, our prejudices, our dreams, and our hopes; that all we can doistogrope for truth even though it be beyond our reach.

—Popper, Sir Karl Raimund

Queen Elizabeth owned silk stockings. The capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens but in bringing them within the reach of factory girls in return for steadily decreasing amount of effort.

—Schumpeter,Joseph Alois

Browse dictionary entries near reach

  1. ‹ re-up
  2. ‹ re-tread
  3. ‹ re-trace
  4. ‹ -'re
  5. ‹ re-press
  6. ‹ re-
  7. ‹ re-lease
  8. ‹ re-lay
  9. ‹ re-laid
  10. ‹ re-form
  1. reach-me-down ›
  2. reaching ›
  3. react ›
  4. reactance ›
  5. reactant ›
  6. reaction ›
  7. reaction engine ›
  8. reaction formation ›
  9. reaction time ›
  10. reactionary ›