reach
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To extend, stretch, or thrust out.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reechIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹitʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
transitive
To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.
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.
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.
intransitive
To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something).
To gain with effort
noun
The act of stretching or extending; extension.
The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
A level stretch of a watercourse, as between rapids in a river or locks in a canal. (examples?)
An extended portion or area of land or water.
The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
Used this way, reach is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use reach
- “Government reaches out to the people.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of physically reaching or thrusting out.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Run into or up to.
Be smelled.
Move forward or upward in order to touch.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.