REACH, v.t. Raught, the ancient preterit, is obsolete.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. 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. – Pope.
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. – Hayward.
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. – Bacon.
6. Tendency to distant consequences. Strain not my speech / To grosser issues, nor to larger reach / Than to suspicion. – Shak.
7. Extent. And on the left hand, hell / With long reach interpos'd. – Milton.
8. Among seamen, the distance between two points on the banks of a river, in which the current flows in a straight course. – Mar. Dict.
9. An effort to vomit.

1. To be extended. The new world reaches quite across the torrid zone. – Doyle. The border shall descend, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward. – Num. xxxiv. And beheld, a ladder set on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. – Gen. xxviii.
2. To penetrate. Ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth to heaven. – 2 Chron. xxviii.
3. To make efforts to vomit. [See Retch.] – Cheyne. 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. – Locke.

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 can not 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. – Dryden.
4. To deliver with the hand by extending the arm; to hand. He reached [to] me an orange. He reached me a full cup. – 2 Esdras.
5. To extend or stretch from a distance. Reach hither thy finger … reach hither thy hand. – John xx.
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. – Cheyne.
8. To penetrate to. Whatever alterations are made in the body, if they reach not the mind, there is no perception. – Locke.
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. – Locke. If these examples of grown men reach not the case of children, let them examine. – Locke.
10. To extend to. Thy desire leads to no excess that reaches blame. – Milton.
11. To extend; to spread abroad. Trees reach'd too far their pamper'd boughs. – Milton.
12. To take with the hand. Lest therefore now his bolder hand / Reach also of the tree of life and eat. [Unusual.] – Milton.
13. To overreach; to deceive. – South.

1. To retch.
   
   
   Cheyne.
2. An effort to vomit.
   
   
   [R.]
3. 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.

4. To stretch out the hand.
   
   

   Goddess humane, reach, then, and freely taste! Milton.

5. 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.
6. 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.

7. To strain after something; to make efforts.
   
   

   Reaching above our nature does no good. Dryden.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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. Shak.

12. To strike, hit, or touch with a missile; as, to reach an object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell.
13. To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
    
    

    To reach after or 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. An artifice to obtain an advantage.
    
    

    The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own underhand to cross the design. Bacon.

17. 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.

18. The pole or rod which connects the hind axle with the forward bolster of a wagon.
19. To arrive at; to come to; to get as far as.
    
    

    Before this letter reaches your hands. Pope.

20. 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.

21. To understand; to comprehend.
    
    
    [Obs.]

    Do what, sir? I reach you not. Beau. *** Fl.

22. To overreach] to deceive.
    
    
    [Obs.] South.