reach

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”).

verb

1. (intransitive) To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
   He reached for a weapon that was on the table.
   He reached for his shoe with his legs.
2. (transitive) 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.
   to reach someone 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, 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. (transitive, of a missile) To strike or touch.
   His bullet reached its intended target.
6. (transitive, by extension) To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut.
   A few words, lovingly, encouragingly spoken failed to reach her heart. 1889, The Kindergarten-Primary Magazine, volume 1, page 119
7. (transitive) To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.
   his hand reaches the river
   When the forest reaches the river, you will be able to rest.
   Patent filings for neural networks grew at a rate of 46 percent from 2013 to 2016, reaching 6,506, the study found. Audio (US) (file) 3 February 2019, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 2019-02-07
8. (transitive) To arrive at (a place) by effort of any kind.
   After three years, he reached the position of manager.
   The climbers reached the top of the mountain after a gruelling ten-day hike.
9. (transitive, figurative) To make contact with.
   I tried to reach you all day.
10. (transitive, figurative) To connect with (someone) on an emotional level, making them receptive of (one); to get through to (someone).
    What will it take for me to reach him?
11. (intransitive, India, Singapore) To arrive at a particular destination.
    The particulars that reach from Eastern Bengal require corroboration. 1907, George Clifford Whitworth, Indian English: An Examination of the Errors of Idiom made by Indians in Writing English, page 122
    I reached at the right time. 1958, India. Ministry of Education, A Basic Grammar of Modern Hindi: English Version, page 33
    It should be noted that Hare Krishna Konar, an arch leftist, could not vote on the Bhupesh Gupta—S.K. Achaiya issue as he reached late. 1960, Gene Donald Overstreet, Marshall Windmiller, Communism in India, page 144
    In the event of your statement reaching later than 6th March, there will be chances of your requirement left and leading to difficulty of having to explain your excess or saving being as the case may be. 1975, India. Parliament. Public Accounts Committee, Epitome of the Reports of the Central Committee of Public Accounts from 1967-68 to 1970-71 (Fourth Lok Sabha) and of the Government Orders Thereon, page 144
    I suggest taking an earlier bus (say 6:00 p.m.), reaching at around midnight, then taking a taxi (might even be able to catch the last MRT) to Changi. 18 February 2004, Mr. Free Notes, “Getting bus from KL to Singapore leaving night, likely to be any delays in arrival?”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)
    When we reached at 7.30 a.m., we saw groups of men and women bracing themselves for the day's events by writing out posters or painting placards. 2009, Boria Majumdar, Nalin Mehta, India and the Olympics, page 218
    Once we reached, we parked our cars beneath the trees and started trekking up the hill after a brief round of introductions. 26 April 2012, Rakesh Chandrasekar, “Post Trek Mail II - Freshers Trek April 22nd Nagala West”, in The Chennai Trekking Club (Usenet)
12. (transitive) To continue living until or up to (a certain age).
    You can only access the inheritance money when you reach the age of 25.
13. (obsolete) To understand; to comprehend.
14. To strain after something; to make (sometimes futile or pretentious) efforts.
    Reach for your dreams.
    Reach for the stars!
    Repetitious comments are other examples of introjects that we take on as if they were truths. These include: You're lazy; you're selfish; you'll never amount to anything; you have big dreams; don't you think you're reaching a bit; try something more attainable; you were never good in math; you're not quick on your feet; you're oblivious to the world around you. 2015, Janet S. Steinwedel, The Golden Key to Executive Coaching
15. (intransitive) To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something).
16. (nautical) To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
17. (slang, MTE, MLE) To arrive at a particular destination, especially to join someone; to meet up.
    What time you reaching tomorrow?
    If you're calling out at your homies to come over and hang out, you just simply say "reach." 2017-09-21, Kristina Ramcharran, “25 Toronto Slang Words You've Definitely Heard At Least Once”, in Narcity

noun

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
3. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
4. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
   While points measure the number of times the average person in a group sees an ad, reach measures the percentage of people in a group that see an ad at least once. Increasing the reach of an ad becomes increasingly expensive as you go along (for the mathematically inclined, it is an exponential function). 1999, Evan J. Mandery, The Campaign: Rudy Giuliani, Ruth Messenger, Al Sharpton, and the Race to be Mayor of New York City
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. (nautical) Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
8. (nautical) The distance traversed between tacks.
9. (nautical) 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.
   December 2011, Dan Houston, Sailing a classic yacht on the Thames, Classic Boat Magazine Close-hauled past flats at Island Gardens opposite the old Royal Naval College at Greenwich we’d been making more than seven knots over the ground and we came close enough to touch the wall. It had felt like roller-blading – long lee-bowed boards down the reaches of this historic river. They have such great names: Bugsby’s Reach, Gallions [Reach], Fiddler’s [Reach] or the evocative Lower Hope [Reach].
10. A level stretch of a watercourse, as between rapids in a river or locks in a canal. (examples?)
11. An extended portion or area of land or water.
    2002, Russell Allen, "Incantations of the Apprentice", on Symphony X, The Odyssey. Through eerie reach of ancient woods / Where lumbering mists arise / I journey for nines moons of the year / To where a land of legend lies
12. (obsolete) An article to obtain an advantage.
13. The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.

Etymology 2

verb

1. (obsolete or dialect) Alternative form of retch.

noun

1. (obsolete or dialect) Alternative form of retch.