Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Reach

Reach

(rēch)
,
Verb.
I.
To retch.
Cheyne.

Reach

,
Noun.
An effort to vomit.
[R.]

Reach

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Reached
(rēcht)
(
Raught
, the old preterit, is obsolete);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Reaching
.]
[OE.
rechen
, AS.
rǣcan
,
rǣcean
, to extend, stretch out; akin to D.
reiken
, G.
reichen
, and possibly to AS.
rīce
powerful, rich, E.
rich
. √115.]
1.
To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like.
Her tresses yellow, and long straughten,
Unto her heeles down they
raughten
.
Rom. of R.
Reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side.
John xx. 27.
Fruit trees, over woody,
reached
too far
Their pampered boughs.
Milton.
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
.
He
reached
me a full cup.
2 Esd. xiv. 39.
3.
To attain or obtain by stretching forth the hand; to 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
.
O patron power, . . . thy present aid afford,
Than I may
reach
the beast.
Dryden.
4.
To strike, hit, or touch 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.
If these examples of grown men
reach
not the case of children, let them examine.
Locke.
6.
To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent;
as, his land
reaches
the river
.
Thy desire . . . leads to no excess
That
reaches
blame.
Milton.
7.
To arrive at; to come to; to get as far as.
Before this letter
reaches
your hands.
Pope.
8.
To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to.
The best account of the appearances of nature which human penetration can
reach
, comes short of its reality.
Cheyne.
9.
To understand; to comprehend.
[Obs.]
Do what, sir? I
reach
you not.
Beau. & Fl.
10.
To overreach; to deceive.
[Obs.]
South.

Reach

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To stretch out the hand.
Goddess humane,
reach
, then, and freely taste!
Milton.
2.
To strain after something; to make efforts.
Reaching
above our nature does no good.
Dryden.
3.
To extend in dimension, time, amount, action, influence, etc., so as to touch, attain to, or be equal to, something.
And behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it
reached
to heaven.
Gen. xxviii. 12.
The new world
reaches
quite across the torrid zone.
Boyle.
4.
(Naut.)
To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
To reach after
or
To reach for
or
To reach at
,
to make efforts to attain to or obtain.

He would be in the posture of the mind
reaching after
a positive idea of infinity.
Locke.

Reach

,
Noun.
1.
The act of stretching or extending; extension; power of reaching or touching with the person, or a limb, or something held or thrown;
as, 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.
Drawn by others who had deeper
reaches
than themselves to matters which they least intended.
Hayward.
Be sure yourself and your own
reach
to know.
Pope.
3.
Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
And on the left hand, hell,
With long
reach
, interposed.
Milton.
I am to pray you not to strain my speech
To grosser issues, nor to larger
reach

Than to suspicion.
Shakespeare
4.
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.
“The river’s wooded reach.”
Tennyson.
The coast . . . is very full of creeks and
reaches
.
Holland.
5.
An artifice to obtain an advantage.
The Duke of Parma had particular
reaches
and ends of his own underhand to cross the design.
Bacon.
6.
The pole or rod which connects the hind axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.

Webster 1828 Edition

Reach

REACH

,
Verb.
T.
Raught, the ancient preterit, is obsolete. The verb is now regular; pp. reached. L. rego, to rule or govern, to make right or straight, that is, to strain or stretch, the radical sense. The English sense of reach appears in L. porrigo and porricio. Greek, to reach, to stretch, the radical sense of desiring. L. fragro. But the primary sense is the same, to reach, to extend, to shoot forth, to urge.]
1.
To extend; to stretch; in a general sense; sometimes followed by out and forth; as, to reach out the arm. Hence,
2.
To extend to; to touch by extending either the arm alone, or with an instrument in the hand; as, to reach a book on the shelf; I cannot reach the object with my cane; the seaman reaches the bottom of the river with a pole or a line.
3.
To strike from a distance.
O patron power, thy present aid afford, that I may reach the beast.
4.
To deliver with the hand by extending the arm; to hand. He reached [to] me an orange.
He reached me a full cup.
5.
To extend or stretch from a distance.
Reach hither thy finger - reach hither thy hand. John 20.
6.
To arrive at; to come to. The ship reached her port in safety. We reached New York on Thursday. The letter reached me at seven o'clock.
7.
To attain to or arrive at, by effort, labor or study; hence, to gain or obtain. Every artist should attempt to reach the point of excellence.
The best accounts of the appearances of nature which human penetration can reach, come short of its reality.
8.
To penetrate to.
Whatever alterations are made in the body, if they reach not the mind, there is no perception.
9.
To extend to so as to include or comprehend in fact or principle.
The law reached the intention of the promoters, and this act fixed the natural price of money.
If these examples of grown men reach not the case of children, let them examine.
10.
To extend to.
Thy desire leads to no excess that reaches blame.
11.
To extend; to spread abroad.
Trees reach'd too far their pampered boughs.
12.
To take with the hand.
Lest therefore now his bolder hand reach also of the tree of life and eat. [Unusual.]
13.
To overreach; to deceive.

REACH

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be extended.
The new world reaches quite across the torrid zone.
The border shall descend, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward. Num. 34.
And behold, a ladder set on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Gen. 28.
2.
To penetrate.
Ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth to heaven. 2Chron. 28.
3.
To make efforts to vomit. [See Retch.]
To reach after, to make efforts to attain to or obtain.
He would be in a posture of mind, reaching after a positive idea of infinity.

REACH

, n.
1.
In a general sense, extension; a stretching; extent.
2.
The power of extending to, or of taking by the hand, or by any instrument managed by the hand. The book is not within my reach. The bottom of the sea is not within the reach of a line or cable.
3.
Power of attainment or management, or the limit of power, physical or moral. He used all the means within his reach. The causes of phenomena are often beyond the reach of human intellect.
Be sure yourself and your own reach to know.
4.
Effort of the mind in contrivance or research; contrivance; scheme.
- Drawn by others who had deeper reaches than themselves to matters which they least intended.
5.
A fetch; an artifice to obtain an advantage.
The duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own underhand, to cross the design.
6.
Tendency to distant consequences.
Strain not my speech to grosser issues, nor to larger reach than to suspicion.
7.
Extent.
And on the left hand, hell with long reach interpos'd.
8.
Among seamen, the distance between two points on the banks of a river, in which the current flows in a straight course.
9.
An effort to vomit.

Definition 2024

reach

reach

See also: REACH

English

Verb

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.
    to reach one a book‎
  3. (intransitive) To stretch out the hand.
  4. (transitive) To attain or obtain by stretching forth the hand; to extend some part of the body, or something held by one, so as to touch, strike, grasp, etc.
    to reach an object with the hand, or with a spear‎
    “I can't quite reach the pepper, could you pass it to me?”‎
    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.‎
  5. To strike or touch with a missile.
    to reach an object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell‎
  6. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.
  7. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.
    his hand reaches the river‎
    • Milton
      Thy desire […] leads to no excess / That reaches blame.
  8. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to.
    After three years, he reached the position of manager.‎
    • Cheyne
      The best account of the appearances of nature which human penetration can reach, comes short of its reality.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, […] . By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come. Mrs. Cooke came out from under the port-cochere to welcome her.
  9. (obsolete) To understand; to comprehend.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      Do what, sir? I reach you not.
  10. (obsolete) To overreach; to deceive.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of South to this entry?)
  11. To strain after something; to make efforts.
    Reach for your dreams.‎
  12. (intransitive) To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something).
    • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 4:
      The Thembu tribe reaches back for twenty generations to King Zwide.
  13. (nautical) To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
  14. To experience a vomiting reflex; to gag; to retch.

Usage notes

  • In the past, raught, rought and retcht could be found as past tense forms; these are now obsolete, except perhaps in some dialects.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

reach ‎(plural reaches)

  1. The act of stretching or extending; extension.
  2. The ability to reach or touch with the person, a limb, or something held or thrown.
    The fruit is beyond my reach.
    to be within reach of cannon shot
    • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter VI
      […] and we have learned not to fire at any of the dinosaurs unless we can keep out of their reach for at least two minutes after hitting them in the brain or spine, or five minutes after puncturing their hearts—it takes them so long to die.
  3. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
    • Hayward
      Drawn by others who had deeper reaches than themselves to matters which they least intended.
    • Alexander Pope
      Be sure yourself and your own reach to know.
  4. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
    • Milton
      And on the left hand, ****, / With long reach, interposed.
    • Shakespeare
      I am to pray you not to strain my speech / To grosser issues, nor to larger reach / Than to suspicion.
  5. (informal) An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch.
    To call George eloquent is certainly a reach.
  6. (boxing) The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
  7. 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.
    • Tennyson
      The river's wooded reach.
    • Holland
      The coast […] is very full of creeks and reaches.
  8. (nautical) Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
  9. (obsolete) An article to obtain an advantage.
    • Francis Bacon
      The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own underhand to cross the design.
  10. The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.
  11. An effort to vomit; a retching.

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: influence · March · whatever · #669: reach · secret · showed · ancient

Anagrams

West Frisian

Noun

reach

  1. Spider-web

Etymology

From Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣċan ‎(“to reach”), from Proto-Germanic *raikijaną, from the Proto-Indo-European *reyǵ- ‎(“to bind, reach”). Cognate with Dutch reiken, German reichen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹiːtʃ/
  • Rhymes: -iːtʃ

Similar Results