reach

REECH/ɹiːt͡ʃ/

Verbreaches, reaching, reached

Noun pluralreaches

25 meanings of reach

Practice

1
come to placeverbtransitive or intransitive
To arrive at a particular place or destination; in Indian and Singaporean English also used without an object, meaning simply to arrive.
Rescue teams hope to reach the village before nightfall.
We finally reached the hotel a little after midnight.
UsageUsually takes a direct object: reach the hotel (not ~~incorrect: reach to the hotel~~); reached with no object is regional.
Similararrive, make
Oppositeleave, depart
Note
An arrival verb of Indian and Singaporean English that needs no object: "I reached at the right time," "he reached late." Elsewhere English expects an object (reached the office) or uses arrived instead. George Clifford Whitworth's Indian English (1907) examined such idioms as errors. Yet Indian government and parliamentary documents use it plainly.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
George Clifford Whitworth wrote Indian English. en.wiktionary.org
Whitworth examined intransitive uses of transitive verbs, including reach, as errors. en.wiktionary.org
Indian government documents contain this intransitive use of reach. cgit.labour.gov.in
Indian parliamentary documents contain this intransitive use of reach. en.wiktionary.org
2
contact by phoneverbfigurativelytransitive
To succeed in contacting someone, as by phone, message, or other means.
The reporter finally reached the senator for a comment.
Customers can reach support around the clock through the app.
UsageTakes the person directly: reach your sister; at or on gives the number or place: reach me at home.
Similarcontact
3
extend farverbintransitive
To extend continuously in space or time, stretching past, beyond, or up to something.
The mountains reach far beyond the horizon.
The drought reached into its third year.
UsageUsually followed by a direction word: reach back, reach beyond, reach into, reach as far as.
Similarextend, stretch, run
Note
Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom (1994) traces a lineage that "reaches back for twenty generations," measuring ancestry the way one might measure a road.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Nelson Mandela wrote Long Walk to Freedom, first published in 1994. nelsonmandela.org
The book uses the exact words “reaches back for twenty generations” when describing Thembu ancestry. repository.act.ac.rw
4
range of powernouncountable or uncountable
The extent to which one's action, influence, or power can be exerted or applied.
The empire's reach extended across three continents.
Social media gives small brands a global reach.
UsageCommon frames: global reach, within someone's reach, beyond the reach of the law.
Similarinfluence, scope, range, sway, power
Note
Capacity of mind as well as power, and often plural. John Hayward writes of men with "deeper reaches than themselves." Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711) advises "your own reach to know," meaning know your limits. Current use covers an empire's or a brand's reach, the territory where influence actually works.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
John Hayward used the words “deeper reaches than themselves.” en.wiktionary.org
Alexander Pope wrote An Essay on Criticism, first published in 1711. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
The poem contains “your own reach to know,” advising readers to recognize the limits of their abilities. gutenberg.org
5
touch by stretchingverbtransitive
To touch, grasp, or obtain something by stretching out the hand or an object held in it.
The child stretched up and reached the cookie jar on the counter.
Can you reach that box on the high shelf for me?
UsageReach + object means you got there: reach the top shelf; reach for it says only that you tried.
Similarget, touch, grasp
6
stretch out armverbintransitive
To extend or thrust out a limb or a held object, as toward something.
She reached across the counter for the menu.
Reach toward the ceiling and hold the stretch.
UsageUsually reach for something; reach into, across or under shows the direction.
Similarstretch, extend, lean
Note
The limb need not be an arm, since one can reach for something with the legs. Older English had the past form raught, now obsolete.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Raught is an obsolete past form of reach. en.wiktionary.org
7
connect emotionallyverbfigurativelytransitive
To connect with someone emotionally so that they become open to one's message; to get through to a person.
The counselor knew how to reach troubled teenagers.
Her speech reached everyone in the room.
Similartouch, move, affect
8
get as far asverbtransitive
To extend, travel, or penetrate as far as something, so as to touch, strike, or get into it.
The roots reached the underground stream after years of growth.
Reforms must reach the poorest communities to matter.
Similartouch, penetrate, hit, strike
Note
Sound and feeling are what this extended use most often carries. In the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897), the notes of a coach horn reach an ear, and elsewhere kind words fail to reach a heart. The object is where an influence finally lands. The verb implies that the influence has crossed distance or resistance to get there.
9
live to (age)verbtransitive
To go on living until a particular age.
He reached the age of one hundred surrounded by family.
Tortoises can reach a remarkable age in captivity.
UsageSay reach the age of ninety or simply reach ninety, with no to.
Similarattain, hit
10
arm lengthnoununcountable
How far a person can extend the arm or a held object to touch, grasp, throw, or strike, as in sports such as boxing.
The tall player's reach gave him an advantage at the net.
She kept the medicine well beyond the toddler's reach.
UsageMostly in phrases: within reach, out of reach, beyond someone's reach.
Similargrasp, range
Note
Mostly found in prepositional phrases: within reach, beyond my reach, out of their reach. The phrases stretch past the arm to weapons, as in "within reach of cannon shot," and Edgar Rice Burroughs's hunters stay out of a dinosaur's reach. Robert Frost's "the top of his reach on the wall" turns it into a height, the highest point a hand can touch.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The phrase “within reach of cannon shot” is attested. en.wiktionary.org
Edgar Rice Burroughs describes people hunting dinosaurs while keeping beyond their reach. gutenberg.org
Robert Frost uses the quoted wording to describe the height a person can reach on a wall. en.wiktionary.org
11
come to (decision)verbtransitive
To come to a given level or stage, or to settle on an agreement or decision.
Both unions hope to reach a deal with the company before the strike deadline.
The project has reached the testing stage and should launch in the spring.
Similarachieve, attain, strike
Note
The journey of arriving at a place carried over to talks and decisions: a deal is treated as a destination you travel toward. It takes a direct object, so you reach an agreement, not reach to one, a common learner slip. Its usual partners are agreement, deal, decision, conclusion, verdict and stage, and finally or eventually often comes before it.

Less common meanings

12
hand oververbtransitive
To hand or pass something to someone by extending the hand.
He reached her the letter across the desk.
Reach me that wrench and I'll tighten the bolt.
UsageTakes two objects, person first, like hand: reach me the salt.
Similarhand, pass, give
13
try too hardverbintransitive
To strain after something, making efforts that are sometimes futile or pretentious.
Critics felt the author was reaching, dressing thin ideas in grand language.
Young writers often reach for profundity before they have found their own voice.
UsageBare you're reaching is a mild charge of straining too hard; reach for the stars praises the effort.
Similarstrain, overreach, strive, stretch
Note
Effort that may outrun ability. In "reach for the stars" the striving is praised. In "don't you think you're reaching a bit" it is a gentle charge of pretension, the tone the verb usually has without an object. The same judgment lives in the noun for an overstatement: calling a claim a reach says it strains past the evidence.
14
exaggerationnouncolloquialcountable
A claim or interpretation that stretches beyond what the evidence actually supports.
Calling the study conclusive is a bit of a reach given the tiny sample.
Her theory linking the two unrelated events struck the jury as a reach.
UsageYou can call a claim a reach, a bit of a reach, or a real reach.
Similarstretch
15
act of stretchingnouncountable
The act of stretching out the arm or body to touch, grasp, or extend toward something.
A sudden reach across the table knocked over the glass.
The gymnast extended her body in one long reach toward the high bar.
Similarstretch, lunge
16
point of sailnouncountable
A point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of the vessel rather than from ahead.
The crew settled into a comfortable reach as the wind came over the beam.
A broad reach let them sail fast without fighting the wind head-on.
Note
Point of sail is the frame here: the angle between a boat's heading and the wind. A reach covers every angle with the wind on the side, stopping short of close-hauled. Phrases like a broad reach name positions within that range. It is the noun partner of sailing with the wind abeam, and crews talk of settling into one.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
A point of sail describes a boat's heading relative to the wind. rya.org.uk
A reach encompasses sailing with the wind from the side, excluding close-hauled. en.wiktionary.org
A broad reach is a subdivision of reaching. en.wikipedia.org
17
sail (side wind)verbintransitive
To sail with the wind nearly abeam, as from one point of tacking to the next.
With the wind abeam, the yachts reach swiftly toward the next mark.
They reached across the bay before turning up into the wind.
Note
A sailor's verb with a precise meaning. It is not just sailing but sailing with the wind roughly on the beam, as on the leg from one tack to the next. Yachts reach across a bay or reach toward a mark. It is the verb behind the point of sail, and its use marks that leg off from the turning that tacking involves.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The nautical verb reach can mean sailing with the wind nearly abeam or sailing from one tacking point to another. en.wiktionary.org
Tacking involves turning the boat through the wind, distinct from sailing along a reach. en.wikipedia.org
18
verbobsolete
To understand or comprehend something.
Do what, sir? I reach you not.
1612, Gregorian calendar; published 1619), Francis Beaumont
Note
Understanding pictured as grasping, with the mind stretching out to take hold of a meaning. Tigranes's line in Beaumont and Fletcher's A King and No King (c. 1611), "I reach you not," shows the shape: a person as the object, meaning "I don't follow you." A modern reader would hear getting through to someone, which runs almost the opposite way.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The exact words “I reach you not” occur in the play, with a person as object and the meaning “I don't follow you.” gutenberg.org
19
nounobsolete
A device or stratagem used to gain an advantage over another.
The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own, under hand, to cross the design.
a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine.”
Note
Scheming pictured as stretching toward a goal. Francis Bacon writes of the Duke of Parma's "particular reaches and ends of his own, under hand." Paired with ends, it names private designs pursued in secret. Readers meeting it in such texts should not confuse it with reach as power or capacity.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Francis Bacon used the quoted words about the Duke of Parma. en.wiktionary.org
In this passage, reaches and ends refers to private schemes pursued secretly. gutenberg.org
20
noun
A continuous stretch or expanse of land or water, especially a section of a river or canal, such as between two bends or two locks; often plural, as in 'the upper reaches'.
21
noundated
The distance a vessel travels between one tack and the next.
22
noun
The pole or rod connecting the rear axle of a wagon to its forward bolster.
23
verbobsolete
To heave as though about to vomit, an old spelling of retch.
24
nounobsolete
A heaving of the stomach as if to vomit, an old spelling of retch.
25
noun
Another spelling of riichi: in Japanese mahjong, declaring a hand one tile from winning, or in pachinko, being one symbol from a jackpot.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of reach apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

The Proto-Indo-European root *Hreyǵ- meant "to stretch out, reach." It led through Proto-Germanic *raikijaną and Proto-West Germanic *raikijan to Old English rǣċan ("to reach"), which became Middle English rechen.