Reaching
//ˈɹiːt͡ʃɪŋ// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The action of one who reaches; an attempt to grasp something by stretching.
- 2 accomplishment of an objective wordnet
- 3 Sailing on a reach, i.e. having the wind on either side and coming from an angle that is larger with respect to the bow than when sailing close-hauled.
- 4 the act of physically reaching or thrusting out wordnet
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of reach form-of, gerund, participle, present
Example
More examples"We must prevent the fire from reaching the gunpowder at any cost."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English reching, rechyng, recchinge, rechand, from Old English *rǣċende and reċċende (“reaching”), from Proto-Germanic *raikijandz, present participle of *raikijaną (“to stretch, reach”) and Proto-Germanic *rakjandz, present participle of *rakjaną (“to stretch, straighten”). Equivalent to reach + -ing.
Etymology 2
From Middle English rechynge, recchinge, from Old English rǣċing (“reaching, extending”), equivalent to reach + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "reaching"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.