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reaching

 - 4 dictionary results

reach

  [reech]
Use reaching in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to get to or get as far as in moving, going, traveling, etc.: The boat reached the shore.
2. to come to or arrive at in some course of progress, action, etc.: Your letter never reached me.
3. to succeed in touching or seizing with an outstretched hand, a pole, etc.: to reach a book on a high shelf.
4. to stretch or hold out; extend: reaching out a hand in greeting.
5. to stretch or extend so as to touch or meet: The bookcase reaches the ceiling.
6. to establish communication with: I called but couldn't reach you.
7. to amount to, as in the sum or total: The cost will reach millions.
8. to penetrate to: distant stars the eye cannot reach.
9. to succeed in striking or hitting, as with a weapon or missile: The artillery fire reached the shore.
10. to succeed in making contact with, influencing, impressing, interesting, convincing, etc.: a program that reached a large teenage audience.
–verb (used without object)
11. to make a stretch, as with the hand or arm.
12. to become outstretched, as the hand or arm.
13. to make a movement or effort as if to touch or seize something: to reach for a weapon.
14. to extend in operation or effect: power that reaches throughout the land.
15. to stretch in space; extend in direction, length, distance, etc.: a coat reaching to the knee; a tower reaching to the skies.
16. to extend or continue in time.
17. to get or come to a specified place, person, condition, etc. (often fol. by to).
18. to amount (often fol. by to): sums reaching to a considerable total.
19. to penetrate: Fields of flowers extended as far as the eye could reach.
20. 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.
21. Nautical.
a. to sail on a reach.
b. to sail with the wind forward of the beam but so as not to require sailing close-hauled.
–noun
22. an act or instance of reaching: to make a reach for a gun.
23. the extent or distance of reaching: within reach of his voice.
24. range of effective action, power, or capacity.
25. a continuous stretch or extent of something: a reach of woodland.
26. Also called pound. a level portion of a canal, between locks.
27. 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).
28. the pole connecting the rear axle of a wagon to the transverse bar or bolster over the front axle supporting the wagon bed.
29. a straight portion of a river between two bends.
Origin:
bef. 900; (v.) ME rechen, OE rǣcan (c. G reichen, D reiken); (n.) deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
reach⋅a⋅ble, adjective
reach⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
reacher, noun

Synonyms:
1. attain. 24. area, sphere, scope.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reaching
reach   (rēch)   
v.   reached, reach·ing, reach·es

v.   tr.

  1. To stretch out or put forth (a body part); extend: reached out an arm.

  2. To touch or grasp by stretching out or extending: can't reach the shelf.

  3. To arrive at; attain: reached a conclusion; reached their destination.

    1. To succeed in getting in contact with or communicating with: They reached us by phone. Our newsletter reaches a specialized readership.

    2. To succeed in having an effect on: No one seems able to reach her anymore.

    3. To extend as far as: The property reaches the shore.

    4. To project as far as: A distant cry reached our ears.

    5. To travel as far as: a long fly ball that reached the stadium's wall.

    1. To extend as far as: The property reaches the shore.

    2. To project as far as: A distant cry reached our ears.

    3. To travel as far as: a long fly ball that reached the stadium's wall.

  6. To aggregate or amount to: Sales reached the millions.

  7. Informal To grasp and hand over to another: Reach me the sugar.

v.   intr.

  1. To thrust out or extend something.

  2. To try to grasp or touch something: reached for a book.

    1. To have extension in space or time: a coat that reaches to the knee; a career that reached over several decades.

    2. To be extensive in influence or effect.

  4. To make an excessive effort, as in drawing a conclusion or making a joke; overreach.

  5. Nautical To sail with the wind abeam.

n.  

  1. The act or an instance of stretching or thrusting out.

  2. The extent or distance something can reach.

    1. Range of understanding; comprehension: a subject beyond my reach.

    2. Range or scope of influence or effect.

  4. An expanse: a reach of prairie; the lower reaches of the food chain.

  5. A pole connecting the rear axle of a vehicle with the front.

  6. Nautical The tack of a sailing vessel with the wind abeam.

  7. The stretch of water visible between bends in a river or channel.


[Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣcan; see reig- in Indo-European roots.]
reach'a·ble adj., reach'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to succeed in arriving at a goal or objective. Reach is the least specific: reached home before dark; reach an understanding.
Achieve suggests the application of skill or initiative: achieved national recognition.
Attain implies the impelling force of ambition, principle, or ideals: trying to attain self-confidence.
Gain connotes considerable effort in surmounting obstacles: gained the workers' trust.
Compass implies succeeding by circumventing impediments: will compass the task. See Also Synonyms at range.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

reach 
O.E. ræcan "to extend, hold forth," also "to succeed in touching," from W.Gmc. *raikjan "stretch out the hand" (cf. O.Fris. reka, M.Du. reiken), from P.Gmc. *raikijanau, perhaps from PIE base *reig- "to stretch out" (cf. Skt. rjyati "he stretches himself," riag "torture" (by racking); Gk. oregein "to reach, extend;" Lith. raizius "to stretch oneself;" O.Ir. rigim "I stretch"), related to base *reg- "to rule, to lead straight, to put right" (see regal). Shakespeare uses the now-obsolete past tense form raught (O.E. ræhte). Meaning "arrive at" is c.1330; that of "succeed in influencing" is from 1667. The noun is first recorded 1526; earliest use is of stretches of water. Reach-me-down "ready-made" (of clothes) is recorded from 1862, from notion of being on the rack in a finished state.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: reach
Function: transitive verb
1 : to extend application to
2 : to obtain an interest in or possession of reach all the assets of the debtor>
3 a : to arrive at and consider reach that issue> b : to amount to reach a due process violation> —reach noun —reach·able adjective
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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