reach

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To stretch out or put forth (a body part); extend: reached out an arm.
2. v. To touch or grasp by stretching out or extending: can't reach the shelf.
3. v. To arrive at; attain: reached a conclusion; reached their destination.
4. v. To succeed in getting in contact with or communicating with: They reached us by phone. Our newsletter reaches a specialized readership.
5. v. To succeed in having an effect on: No one seems able to reach her anymore.
6. v. To extend as far as: The property reaches the shore.
7. v. To project as far as: A distant cry reached our ears.
8. v. To travel as far as: a long fly ball that reached the stadium's wall.
9. v. To aggregate or amount to: Sales reached the millions.
10. v. Informal To grasp and hand over to another: Reach me the sugar.
11. v. To thrust out or extend something.
12. v. To try to grasp or touch something: reached for a book.
13. v. To have extension in space or time: a coat that reaches to the knee; a career that reached over several decades.
14. v. To be extensive in influence or effect.
15. v. To make an excessive effort, as in drawing a conclusion or making a joke; overreach.
16. v. Nautical To sail with the wind abeam.
17. n. The act or an instance of stretching or thrusting out.
18. n. The extent or distance something can reach.
19. n. Range of understanding; comprehension: a subject beyond my reach.
20. n. Range or scope of influence or effect.
21. n. An expanse: a reach of prairie; the lower reaches of the food chain.
22. n. A pole connecting the rear axle of a vehicle with the front.
23. n. Nautical The tack of a sailing vessel with the wind abeam.
24. n. The stretch of water visible between bends in a river or channel.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To hold or stretch forth; extend outward.
2. To deliver by or as if by the outstretched hand; hand out or over; extend out to.
3. To make a stretch to; bring into contact by or as if by stretching out the hand; attain to by something held or stretched out: as, to reach a book on a shelf; to reach an object with a cane.
4. To take, seize, or move by stretching out the hand, or by other effort.
5. To attain to by movement or progress; arrive at, physically or mentally; come or get to: as, to reach a port or destination; to reach high office or distinction; to reach a conclusion by study or by reasoning.
6. To extend to in continuity or scope; streteh or be prolonged so as to extend to, literally or figuratively: attain to contact with or action upon; penetrate to.
7. To come or get at; penetrate or obtain access to; extend cognizance, agency, or influence to: as, to reach a person through his vanity.
8. To attain to an understanding of; succeed in comprehending.
9. To stretch; have extent in course or direction; continue to or toward a term, limit, or conclusion.
10. To extend in amount or capacity; rise in quantity or number; amount; suffice: with to or unto.
11. To make a stretch to or toward something, as with the hand or by exertion; stretch forward or onward; make a straining effort: as, to reach out for an apple; to reach at or after gain.
12. To attain; arrive; get, as to a point, destination, or aim.
13. To turn; start forth.
14. Nautical, to sail with the wind free.
15. n. A continuous stretch or course; an uninterrupted line of extension or continuity: as, a reach of level ground; an inland reach of the sea; a reach of a river (a straight course between bends); a reach of a canal (the part between locks, having a uniform level).
16. n. Limit or scope of stretch or extension; power of reaching by the outstretched hand or any other agency; the act of or capacity for reaching: as, the reach of the arm; to be within one's reach, or within the reach of the law.
17. n. Effective extent or scope; range of capacity or ability; power of accomplishment; grasp; penetration; comprehension.
18. n. A reaching out for something; forecast in aim or purpose; a scheme of effort for some end.
19. n. The pole connecting the rear axle to the bolster of a wagon or other vehicle; a coupling-pole. See cut under hound, 7.
20. n. Nautical, the distance sailed between tacks: same as board, 13 .
21. n. An extended point of land; a promontory.
22. A variant of retch.

Wiktionary

1. v. To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like.
2. v. 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.
3. v. 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.
4. v. To strike, hit, or tough with a missile; as, to reach an object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell.
5. v. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as.
6. v. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent; as, his hand reaches the river.
7. v. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to.
8. v. To understand; to comprehend.
9. v. To stretch out the hand.
10. v. To strain after something; to make efforts.
11. v. intransitive To extend in dimension, time etc.; to stretch out continuously (past, beyond, above, from etc. something).
12. n. The act of stretching or extending; extension; power of reaching or touching with the person, or a limb, or something held or thrown.
13. n. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
14. n. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
15. n. informal An exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch.
16. n. boxing The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
17. n. 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.
18. n. nautical Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
19. n. obsolete An article to obtain an advantage.
20. n. The pole or rod connecting the rear axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To retch.
2. n. rare An effort to vomit.
3. v. To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like.
4. v. Hence, to deliver by stretching out a member, especially the hand; to give with the hand; to pass to another; to hand over.
5. v. 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.
6. v. To strike, hit, or touch with a missile.
7. v. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as.
8. v. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.
9. v. To arrive at; to come to; to get as far as.
10. v. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to.
11. v. obsolete To understand; to comprehend.
12. v. obsolete To overreach; to deceive.
13. v. To stretch out the hand.
14. v. To strain after something; to make efforts.
15. v. To extend in dimension, time, amount, action, influence, etc., so as to touch, attain to, or be equal to, something.
16. v. (Naut.) To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
17. n. The act of stretching or extending; extension; power of reaching or touching with the person, or a limb, or something held or thrown
18. n. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
19. n. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
20. n. 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.
21. n. An artifice to obtain an advantage.
22. n. The pole or rod which connects the hind axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
2. n. the limit of capability
3. v. reach a goal, e.g.,
4. v. to exert much effort or energy
5. n. an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control:
6. v. to extend as far as
7. n. the limits within which something can be effective
8. v. be in or establish communication with
9. v. reach a destination, either real or abstract
10. v. place into the hands or custody of
11. v. to gain with effort
12. v. reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
13. v. move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense