reach

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See also REACH

Contents

[edit] English

Most common English words: influence « March « whatever « #669: reach » secret » showed » ancient

[edit] Etymology

Old English rǣċan. Cognate with Dutch reiken, German reichen.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to reach

Third person singular
reaches

Simple past
reached

Past participle
reached

Present participle
reaching

to reach (third-person singular simple present reaches, present participle reaching, simple past and past participle reached)

  1. To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like.
    He reached for a weapon that was on the table.
    He reached for his shoe with his legs.
  2. Hence, to deliver by stretching out a member, especially the hand; to give with the hand; to pass to another; to hand over; as, to reach one a book.
  3. To attain or obtain by stretching forth the hand; too extend some part of the body, or something held by one, so as to touch, strike, grasp, or the like; as, to reach an object with the hand, or with a spear.
    The gun was stored in a small box on a high closet shelf, but the boy managed to reach it by climbing on other boxes.
    I can't quite reach the pepper, could you pass it to me?
  4. To strike, hit, or tough with a missile; as, to reach an object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell.
  5. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as.
  6. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent; as, his hand reaches the river.
  7. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to.
    In 3 years, he reached the position of manager.
  8. To understand; to comprehend.
    I didn't reach what he was trying to tell me.
  9. To stretch out the hand.
  10. To strain after something; to make efforts.
    Reach for your dreams.
  11. To extend in dimension, time, amount, action, influence, etc., so as to touch, attain to, or be equal to, something.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Noun

Singular
reach

Plural
reaches

reach (plural reaches)

  1. The act of stretching or extending; extension; power of reaching or touching with the person, or a limb, or something held or thrown.
    The fruit is beyond my reach.
    to be within reach of cannon shot
  2. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
  3. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
  4. (informal) An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch.
    To call George eloquent is certainly a reach.
  5. (boxing) The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
  6. An extended portion of land or water; a stretch; a straight portion of a stream or river, as from one turn to another; a level stretch, as between locks in a canal; an arm of the sea extending up into the land.
  7. (nautical) Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Part or all of this page has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

[edit] Anagrams


[edit] West Frisian

[edit] Noun

reach

  1. Spider-web