reach
/ɹiːt͡ʃ/verb, noun
reach is spelled R-E-A-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, reach means “To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in reach?
| Letters | 5: R-E-A-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 87 times per million words; the 1,223rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is reach?
Reach appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce reach?
- /ɹiːt͡ʃ/
Reach has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-reach.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with reach
Sounds like: reech (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: retch.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with reach?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as reach.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: arche, acher, chare.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of reach
- reaches present, singular, he/she/it
- reaching participle, present
- reached participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reach mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
He reached for a weapon that was on the table.
- 2
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.
to reach someone a book
- 3
To stretch out the hand.
- 4
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.
to reach an object with the hand, or with a spear
- 5
To strike or touch.
His bullet reached its intended target.
- 6
To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut.
- 7
To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue of extent.
his hand reaches the river
- 8
To arrive at (a place) by effort of any kind.
After three years, he reached the position of manager.
noun
- 1
The act of stretching or extending; extension.
- 2
The ability to reach or touch with the person, a limb, or something held or thrown.
The fruit is beyond my reach.
- 3
The power of stretching out or extending action, influence, or the like; power of attainment or management; extent of force or capacity.
- 4
Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence; result; scope.
- 5
informalAn exaggeration; an extension beyond evidence or normal; a stretch.
To call George eloquent is certainly a reach.
- 6
The distance a boxer's arm can extend to land a blow.
- 7
Any point of sail in which the wind comes from the side of a vessel, excluding close-hauled.
- 8
The distance traversed between tacks.
- 9
Alternative form of riichi.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reach in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | atteindre, arriver à , tendre , atteinte , portée , allonge |
| German | erreichen , ausstrecken , greifen nach, langen nach , reichen , Kanalhaltung |
| Portuguese | chegar, alcançar, atingir , alcance |
| Spanish | llegar a, alcanzar, allegarse a , tender , alcance , tramo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does reach come from?
From Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣċan (“to reach”), from Proto-West Germanic *raikijan, from Proto-Germanic *raikijaną, from the Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- (“to bind, reach”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).