What does "reach" mean?
The act of stretching or extending; extension.
Reach
/ɹiːt͡ʃ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of stretching or extending; extension.
- Grammar: reach is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: range, scope, stretch, access expansion.
- Useful contrasts: fail, limit, miss.
- Usage evidence: I tried to reach you on the phone, but I was unable to get through.
How to use "reach"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reach" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reach" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reach" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reach" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reach" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "range" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reach", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of stretching or extending; extension.
- 2 Alternative form of retch. alt-of, alternative, dialectal, obsolete
- 3 Alternative form of riichi. Japanese, alt-of, alternative
- 4 the act of physically reaching or thrusting out wordnet
- 5 The ability to reach or touch with the person, a limb, or something held or thrown.
"The fruit is beyond my reach."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: wordnet
- 7 The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
"Drawn by others who had deeper reaches than themselves to matters which they least intended."
- 8 the limit of capability wordnet
- 9 Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
"And on the left hand, hell, / With long reach, interposed."
- 10 the limits within which something can be effective wordnet
- 11 An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch. informal
"To call George eloquent is certainly a reach."
- 12 The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
- 13 Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
- 14 The distance traversed between tacks.
- 15 A stretch of a watercourse which can be sailed in one reach (in the previous sense). An extended portion of water; a stretch; a straightish portion of a stream, river, or arm of the sea extending up into the land, as from one turn to another. By extension, the adjacent land.
"the gulfe Iasius, and all the coast thereof is very full of creekes and reaches."
- 16 A level stretch of a watercourse, as between rapids in a river or locks in a canal. (examples?)
- 17 An extended portion or area of land or water.
"Lower down, in a little reach of the lagoon there grew a clump of casuarinas, those timid isolates that withdraw from other trees, selecting their own privacy, which is for ever whispering secrets up in their feathery fronds, set in motion by the slightest breeze."
- 18 An article to obtain an advantage. obsolete
"The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own, under hand, to cross the design."
- 19 The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.
"They leaped ahead just as Ruth came to the side of the long reach that connected the small pair of front wheels with the huge wheels in the rear."
Verb
- 1 To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand). intransitive
"He reached for a weapon that was on the table."
- 2 Alternative form of retch. alt-of, alternative, dialectal, obsolete
- 3 be in or establish communication with wordnet
- 4 To give to someone by stretching out a limb, especially the hand; to give with the hand; to pass to another person; to hand over. transitive
"to reach someone a book"
- 5 to exert much effort or energy wordnet
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 To stretch out the hand. intransitive
- 7 move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense wordnet
- 8 To attain or obtain by stretching forth the hand; to extend some part of the body, or something held, so as to touch, strike, grasp, etc. transitive
"to reach an object with the hand, or with a spear"
- 9 reach a point in time, or a certain state or level wordnet
- 10 To strike or touch. transitive
"His bullet reached its intended target."
- 11 reach a destination, either real or abstract wordnet
- 12 To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut. broadly, transitive
"A few words, lovingly, encouragingly spoken failed to reach her heart."
- 13 reach a goal wordnet
- 14 To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent. transitive
"his hand reaches the river"
- 15 place into the hands or custody of wordnet
- 16 To arrive at (a place) by effort of any kind. transitive
"After three years, he reached the position of manager."
- 17 to gain with effort wordnet
- 18 To make contact with. figuratively, transitive
"I tried to reach you all day."
- 19 to extend as far as wordnet
- 20 To connect with (someone) on an emotional level, making them receptive of (one); to get through to (someone). figuratively, transitive
"What will it take for me to reach him?"
- 21 To arrive at a particular destination. India, Singapore, intransitive
"The particulars that reach from Eastern Bengal require corroboration."
- 22 To continue living until or up to (a certain age). transitive
"You can only access the inheritance money when you reach the age of 25."
- 23 To understand; to comprehend. obsolete
"Do what, sir? I reach you not."
- 24 To strain after something; to make (sometimes futile or pretentious) efforts.
"Reach for your dreams."
- 25 To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something). intransitive
"The Thembu tribe reaches back for twenty generations to King Zwide."
- 26 To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
- 27 To arrive at a particular destination, especially to join someone; to meet up. Multicultural-London-English, slang
"What time you reaching tomorrow?"
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
"A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is responsible for the UK’s registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (UK Reach), said: “UK Reach allows the UK to make its own decisions on the regulation of chemicals that are based on the best available scientific evidence, ensuring that chemicals remain safely used and managed. «UK to investigate tattoo ink health risks after EU ban » The Guardian, 2021"
- 2 A village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL5666).
- 3 A former township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada, now part of the township of Scugog.
Example
"I tried to reach you on the phone, but I was unable to get through."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reach"?
Common synonyms include: range, scope, stretch, access expansion, accessed, accesses.
How do you use "reach" in a sentence?
I tried to reach you on the phone, but I was unable to get through.
How do you pronounce "reach"?
Pronounced /ɹiːt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣċan (“to reach”), from Proto-West Germanic *raikijan, from Proto-Germanic *raikijaną, from the Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- (“to bind, reach”).
Etymology 2
From Japanese 立直 (rīchi), from Chinese 立直 (lìzhí).