̈ɪri:tʃ v. & n. --v. 1 intr. & tr. (often foll. by out)
stretch out;
extend. 2 intr. stretch out a limb,
the hand,
etc.;
make a reaching
motion or
effort. 3 intr. (often foll. by for) make a motion or effort to
touch or
get hold
of, or to
attain (reached
for his pipe). 4 tr. get as
far as;
arrive at (reached Lincoln at lunch-time;
your letter reached me today). 5 tr. get to or attain (a specified point) on a scale (the
temperature reached 90Û; the
number of applications reached 100). 6 intr. (foll. by to) attain
to; be
adequate for (my
income will
not reach to it). 7 tr.
succeed in achieving; attain (have reached agreement). 8 tr. make
contact with the hand etc., or by
telephone etc. (was out
all day and could not be reached). 9 tr. succeed in influencing or having the required
effect on (could not
manage to reach
their audience). 10 tr. hand, pass (reach me
that book). 11 tr.
take with an outstretched hand. 12 intr. Naut.
sail with the wind
abeam or
abaft the
beam. --n. 1 the
extent to
which a hand etc. can be reached out,
influence exerted, motion carried out, or
mental powers used. 2 an
act of reaching out. 3 a
continuous extent,
esp. a stretch of
river between two bends, or the
part of a
canal between locks. 4 Naut. a
distance traversed in reaching. øout of reach not
able to be reached or attained. reach-me-down ready-made. øøreachable adj. reacher n. [OE rócan f. WG]
