reaching

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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 their destination; reached a conclusion.

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

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

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

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

c. 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 extend or move a hand, arm, or other body part, especially when trying to touch or grasp something: reached for a book; reach into a pocket.

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

b. To have an influence or effect: a philosophy that reaches into many disciplines.

c. To make an effort to address the needs of a group or community. Often used with out: a program to reach out to disengaged youth.

3. Nautical To sail with the wind abeam.

1. The act or an instance of stretching or thrusting out: The frog caught the insect with a sudden reach of its tongue.

2. The extent or distance something can reach: a boxer with a long reach.

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

b. Range or scope of influence or effect: the reach of the transmitter. See Synonyms at range.

4. often reaches

a. An expanse of land or water, such as a stretch of water visible between bends in a river or channel.

b. A rank or level in a social group or organization: the lower reaches of society.

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.

[Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣcan; see reig- in Indo-European roots.]

reach′a·ble adj.

reach′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	reaching - the act of physically reaching or thrusting out stretch, reach movement, motility, motion, move - a change of position that does not entail a change of location; "the reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise"; "movement is a sign of life"; "an impatient move of his hand"; "gastrointestinal motility" outreach - the act of reaching out; "the outreach toward truth of the human spirit"
	2.	reaching - accomplishment of an objective arrival accomplishment, achievement - the action of accomplishing something attainment - arrival at a new stage; "his attainment of puberty was delayed by malnutrition" advent, coming - arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous); "the advent of the computer"

References in classic literature ?

A long, claw-like hand was reaching up to grasp the metal rail.

Should Matai Shang die before I reached the deck my chances of ever reaching it would be slender indeed, for the black dator need but cut the rope above me to be freed from me forever, for the vessel had drifted across the brink of a chasm into whose yawning depths my body would drop to be crushed to a shapeless pulp should Thurid reach the rope now.

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He remembered that it was the detective who procured the sledge, the only means of reaching Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, he kept his usual reserve.

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My whole soul was so bent upon reaching Hampton that I did not have time to cherish any bitterness toward the hotel-keeper.

As soon as possible after reaching the grounds of the Hampton Institute, I presented myself before the head teacher for an assignment to a class.

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I now felt that in our present situation it was in vain for us to think of ever overcoming the obstacles in our way, and I gave up all thoughts of reaching the vale which lay beyond this series of impediments; while at the same time I could not devise any scheme to extricate ourselves from the difficulties in which we were involved.

The remotest idea of returning to Nukuheva, unless assured of our vessel's departure, never once entered my mind, and indeed it was questionable whether we could have succeeded in reaching it, divided as we were from the bay by a distance we could not compute, and perplexed too in our remembrance of localities by our recent wanderings.

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Tarzan drew his hunting knife from its sheath and reaching down, severed the thongs that bound her ankles.

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in reaching the point where the attraction of the earth and moon will be in equilibrio .

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That evening, on reaching Paris, I saw Monsieur Cassette, dealer in walking-sticks and umbrellas, and wrote to my friend:

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"If Musqueton were with us," observed Athos, on reaching the spot where they had had a dispute with the paviers, "how he would tremble at passing this!

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The only chance of scaling it was by broken masses of rock, piled one upon another, which formed a succession of crags, reaching nearly to the summit.