n. 1. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Drawn by others who had deeper reaches than themselves to matters which they least intended. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

Be sure yourself and your own reach to know. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope. [ 1913 Webster ]

And on the left hand, hell,
With long reach, interposed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am to pray you not to strain my speech
To grosser issues, nor to larger reach
Than to suspicion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The coast . . . is very full of creeks and reaches. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An artifice to obtain an advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of his own underhand to cross the design. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The pole or rod which connects the hind axle with the forward bolster of a wagon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To retch. Cheyne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An effort to vomit. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Reached Raught, the old preterit, is obsolete); p. pr. & vb. n. Reaching. ] [ OE. rechen, AS. r&aemacr_;can, r&aemacr_;cean, to extend, stretch out; akin to D. reiken, G. reichen, and possibly to AS. rīce powerful, rich, E. rich. √115. ] 1. To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a limb, a member, something held, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her tresses yellow, and long straughten,
Unto her heeles down they raughten. Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side. John xx. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fruit trees, over woody, reached too far
Their pampered boughs. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

He reached me a full cup. 2 Esd. xiv. 39. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

O patron power, . . . thy present aid afford,
Than I may reach the beast. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To strike, hit, or touch with a missile; as, to reach an object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as. [ 1913 Webster ]

If these examples of grown men reach not the case of children, let them examine. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent; as, his land reaches the river. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy desire . . . leads to no excess
That reaches blame. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To arrive at; to come to; to get as far as. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before this letter reaches your hands. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain; to be advanced to. [ 1913 Webster ]

The best account of the appearances of nature which human penetration can reach, comes short of its reality. Cheyne. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To understand; to comprehend. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Do what, sir? I reach you not. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To overreach; to deceive. [ Obs. ] South. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To stretch out the hand. [ 1913 Webster ]

Goddess humane, reach, then, and freely taste! Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To strain after something; to make efforts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reaching above our nature does no good. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To extend in dimension, time, amount, action, influence, etc., so as to touch, attain to, or be equal to, something. [ 1913 Webster ]

And behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Gen. xxviii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

The new world reaches quite across the torrid zone. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking to another, or with the wind nearly abeam. [ 1913 Webster ]

To reach after or
To reach for or
To reach at, to make efforts to attain to or obtain. [ 1913 Webster ] He would be in the posture of the mind reaching after a positive idea of infinity. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being within reach. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who reaches. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An exaggeration. [ Obs. ] Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being beyond reach; lofty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Unto a reachless pitch of praises hight. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]