# reach

Pronunciation: say "REECH" /ɹiːt͡ʃ/

## Verb

1. To arrive at a particular place or destination; in Indian and Singaporean English also used without an object, meaning simply to arrive.
   - Simple: To get to a place you were going to. Some speakers also just say 'when we reached' to mean 'when we arrived'.
   - _Rescue teams hope to reach the village before nightfall._
   - _We finally reached the hotel a little after midnight._
2. To succeed in contacting someone, as by phone, message, or other means.
   - Simple: To get in touch with someone, such as by phone or message.
   - _The reporter finally reached the senator for a comment._
   - _Customers can reach support around the clock through the app._
3. To extend continuously in space or time, stretching past, beyond, or up to something.
   - Simple: To stretch out far in space or time.
   - _The mountains reach far beyond the horizon._
   - _The drought reached into its third year._
5. To touch, grasp, or obtain something by stretching out the hand or an object held in it.
   - Simple: To get or touch something by stretching out your hand or arm.
   - _The child stretched up and reached the cookie jar on the counter._
   - _Can you reach that box on the high shelf for me?_
6. To extend or thrust out a limb or a held object, as toward something.
   - Simple: To stretch out your arm or hand toward something.
   - _She reached across the counter for the menu._
   - _Reach toward the ceiling and hold the stretch._
7. To connect with someone emotionally so that they become open to one's message; to get through to a person.
   - Simple: To connect with someone's feelings so they listen and understand.
   - _The counselor knew how to reach troubled teenagers._
   - _Her speech reached everyone in the room._
8. To extend, travel, or penetrate as far as something, so as to touch, strike, or get into it.
   - Simple: To go or stretch far enough to touch, hit, or get into something.
   - _The roots reached the underground stream after years of growth._
   - _Reforms must reach the poorest communities to matter._
9. To go on living until a particular age.
   - Simple: To live until you are a certain age.
   - _He reached the age of one hundred surrounded by family._
   - _Tortoises can reach a remarkable age in captivity._
12. To hand or pass something to someone by extending the hand.
   - Simple: To pass or hand something to someone.
   - _He reached her the letter across the desk._
   - _Reach me that wrench and I'll tighten the bolt._
13. To strain after something, making efforts that are sometimes futile or pretentious.
   - Simple: To try very hard to get or do something, often without success.
   - _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._
17. To sail with the wind nearly abeam, as from one point of tacking to the next.
   - Simple: To sail with the wind coming from the side of the boat.
   - _With the wind abeam, the yachts reach swiftly toward the next mark._
   - _They reached across the bay before turning up into the wind._
11. To come to a given level or stage, or to settle on an agreement or decision.
   - Simple: To get to a certain level or stage, or to come to 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._

## Noun

4. The extent to which one's action, influence, or power can be exerted or applied.
   - Simple: How far someone's power or influence can spread.
   - _The empire's reach extended across three continents._
   - _Social media gives small brands a global reach._
10. How far a person can extend the arm or a held object to touch, grasp, throw, or strike, as in sports such as boxing.
   - Simple: How far you can stretch your arm to touch, hold, or hit something.
   - _The tall player's reach gave him an advantage at the net._
   - _She kept the medicine well beyond the toddler's reach._
14. A claim or interpretation that stretches beyond what the evidence actually supports. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A guess or claim that goes too far beyond what the facts show.
   - _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._
15. The act of stretching out the arm or body to touch, grasp, or extend toward something.
   - Simple: An act of stretching out your arm or body to touch or get something.
   - _A sudden reach across the table knocked over the glass._
   - _The gymnast extended her body in one long reach toward the high bar._
16. A point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of the vessel rather than from ahead.
   - Simple: A way of sailing when the wind blows from the side of the boat.
   - _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._

## Verb

18. To understand or comprehend something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To understand or grasp the meaning of something.

## Noun

19. A device or stratagem used to gain an advantage over another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A clever trick used to gain an advantage over someone.

## Other meanings

- (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'.
- (noun) The distance a vessel travels between one tack and the next.
- (noun) The pole or rod connecting the rear axle of a wagon to its forward bolster.
- (verb) To heave as though about to vomit, an old spelling of retch.
- (noun) A heaving of the stomach as if to vomit, an old spelling of retch.
- (noun) Another spelling of riichi: in Japanese mahjong, declaring a hand one tile from winning, or in pachinko, being one symbol from a jackpot.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/reach (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).