reaching

/ˈɹiːt͡ʃɪŋ/

reaching is the present participle and gerund of reach.

Noun

reaching (plural reachings)

The action of one who reaches; an attempt to grasp something by stretching.
Sailing on a reach, i.e. having the wind on either side and coming from an angle that is larger with respect to the bow than when sailing close-hauled.

Meaning of reach

Verb

reach (third-person singular simple present reaches, present participle reaching, simple past and past participle reached or (obsolete) raught)

(intransitive) 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.
(transitive) 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
(intransitive) To stretch out the hand.
(transitive) 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
(transitive) To strike or touch.
- His bullet reached its intended target.
(broadly, transitive) To extend an action, effort, or influence to; to penetrate to; to pierce, or cut.
- A few words, lovingly, encouragingly spoken failed to reach her heart.1889, The Kindergarten-Primary Magazine, volume 1, page 119

See all 32 meanings of reach

Forms of reaching

plural	reachings

Origin of reaching

From Middle English reching, rechyng, recchinge, rechand, from Old English *rǣċende and reċċende (“reaching”), from Proto-Germanic *raikijandz, present participle of *raikijaną (“to stretch, reach”) and Proto-Germanic *rakjandz, present participle of *rakjaną (“to stretch, straighten”). Equivalent to reach + -ing.

From Middle English rechynge, recchinge, from Old English rǣċing (“reaching, extending”), equivalent to reach + -ing.

Words formed from reaching

Phrases with reaching

1 more phrasesFewer phrases

reaching across the aisle

Words that rhyme with reaching

Questions about reaching

What does reaching mean?: Reaching means the action of one who reaches; an attempt to grasp something by stretching.
What is reaching the present participle and gerund of?: Reaching is the present participle and gerund of reach.
What part of speech is reaching?: Reaching is a noun.
How do you pronounce reaching?: Reaching is pronounced /ˈɹiːt͡ʃɪŋ/.
What is the plural of reaching?: The plural of reaching is reachings.

Words near reaching in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: reaching (page history and authors); reach (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-reaching.ogg.

Cite this entry: “reaching.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reaching. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.