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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

reach.

To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɹiːt͡ʃ/
  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.
    He reached for his shoe with his legs.
  2. 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
  3. To stretch out the hand.

    intransitive
  4. 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
    “I can't quite reach the pepper. Could you pass it to me?”
  5. To strike or touch.

    transitive
    His bullet reached its intended target.
  6. To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut.

    broadly · transitive
  7. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.

    transitive
    his hand reaches the river
    When the forest reaches the river, you will be able to rest.
  8. To arrive at (a place) by effort of any kind.

    transitive
    After three years, he reached the position of manager.
    The climbers reached the top of the mountain after a gruelling ten-day hike.
  9. To make contact with.

    figuratively · transitive
    I tried to reach you all day.
  10. 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?
  11. To arrive at a particular destination.

    India · Singapore · intransitive
  12. 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.
  13. To understand; to comprehend.

    obsolete
  14. To strain after something; to make (sometimes futile or pretentious) efforts.

    Reach for your dreams.
    Reach for the stars!
  15. To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something).

    intransitive
  16. To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.

  17. To arrive at a particular destination, especially to join someone; to meet up.

    Multicultural-London-English · slang
    What time you reaching tomorrow?
Where this word comes from

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”). Cognate with Dutch reiken, German reichen.

noun/ɹiːt͡ʃ/
  1. The act of stretching or extending; extension.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The ability to reach or touch with the person, a limb, or something held or thrown.

    countable · uncountable
    The fruit is beyond my reach.
    to be within reach of cannon shot
  3. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.

    countable · uncountable
  4. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.

    countable · uncountable
  5. An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    To call George eloquent is certainly a reach.
  6. The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.

    countable · uncountable
  7. Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.

    countable · uncountable
  8. The distance traversed between tacks.

    countable · uncountable
  9. 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.

    countable · uncountable
  10. A level stretch of a watercourse, as between rapids in a river or locks in a canal. (examples?)

    countable · uncountable
  11. An extended portion or area of land or water.

    countable · uncountable
  12. An article to obtain an advantage.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  13. The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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”). Cognate with Dutch reiken, German reichen.

verb/ɹiːt͡ʃ/
  1. Alternative form of retch.

    alt-of · alternative · dialectal · obsolete
noun/ɹiːt͡ʃ/
  1. Alternative form of retch.

    alt-of · alternative · dialectal · obsolete
noun/ɹiːt͡ʃ/
  1. Alternative form of riichi.

    Japanese · alt-of · alternative
Where this word comes from

From Japanese 立直 (rīchi), from Chinese 立直 (lìzhí).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.