The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Reach \Reach\ (r[=e]ch), v. i.
   To retch. --Cheyne.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Reach \Reach\, n.
   An effort to vomit. [R.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Reach \Reach\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reached (r[=e]cht)
   (Raught, the old preterit, is obsolete); p. pr. & vb. n.
   Reaching.] [OE. rechen, AS. r[=ae]can, r[=ae]cean, to
   extend, stretch out; akin to D. reiken, G. reichen, and
   possibly to AS. r[imac]ce powerful, rich, E. rich.
   [root]115.]
   1. To extend; to stretch; to thrust out; to put forth, as a
      limb, a member, something held, or the like.
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            Her tresses yellow, and long straughten,
            Unto her heeles down they raughten.   --Rom. of R.
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            Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side.
                                                  --John xx. 27.
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            Fruit trees, over woody, reached too far
            Their pampered boughs.                --Milton.
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   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.
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            He reached me a full cup.             --2 Esd. xiv.
                                                  39.
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   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.
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            O patron power, . . . thy present aid afford,
            Than I may reach the beast.           --Dryden.
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   4. To strike, hit, or touch with a missile; as, to reach an
      object with an arrow, a bullet, or a shell.
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   5. Hence, to extend an action, effort, or influence to; to
      penetrate to; to pierce, or cut, as far as.
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            If these examples of grown men reach not the case of
            children, let them examine.           --Locke.
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   6. To extend to; to stretch out as far as; to touch by virtue
      of extent; as, his land reaches the river.
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            Thy desire . . . leads to no excess
            That reaches blame.                   --Milton.
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   7. To arrive at; to come to; to get as far as.
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            Before this letter reaches your hands. --Pope.
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   8. To arrive at by effort of any kind; to attain to; to gain;
      to be advanced to.
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            The best account of the appearances of nature which
            human penetration can reach, comes short of its
            reality.                              --Cheyne.
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   9. To understand; to comprehend. [Obs.]
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            Do what, sir? I reach you not.        --Beau. & Fl.
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   10. To overreach; to deceive. [Obs.] --South.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Reach \Reach\, 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.
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   2. The power of stretching out or extending action,
      influence, or the like; power of attainment or management;
      extent of force or capacity.
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            Drawn by others who had deeper reaches than
            themselves to matters which they least intended.
                                                  --Hayward.
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            Be sure yourself and your own reach to know. --Pope.
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   3. Extent; stretch; expanse; hence, application; influence;
      result; scope.
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            And on the left hand, hell,
            With long reach, interposed.          --Milton.
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            I am to pray you not to strain my speech
            To grosser issues, nor to larger reach
            Than to suspicion.                    --Shak.
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   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.
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            The coast . . . is very full of creeks and reaches.
                                                  --Holland.
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   5. An artifice to obtain an advantage.
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            The Duke of Parma had particular reaches and ends of
            his own underhand to cross the design. --Bacon.
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   6. The pole or rod which connects the hind axle with the
      forward bolster of a wagon.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Reach \Reach\, v. i.
   1. To stretch out the hand.
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            Goddess humane, reach, then, and freely taste!
                                                  --Milton.
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   2. To strain after something; to make efforts.
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            Reaching above our nature does no good. --Dryden.
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   3. To extend in dimension, time, amount, action, influence,
      etc., so as to touch, attain to, or be equal to,
      something.
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            And behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top
            of it reached to heaven.              --Gen. xxviii.
                                                  12.
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            The new world reaches quite across the torrid zone.
                                                  --Boyle.
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   4. (Naut.) To sail on the wind, as from one point of tacking
      to another, or with the wind nearly abeam.
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   To reach after or To reach for or To reach at, to make
      efforts to attain to or obtain.
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            He would be in the posture of the mind reaching
            after a positive idea of infinity.    --Locke.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Retch \Retch\ (r[e^]ch or r[=e]ch; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p.
   Retched (r[e^]cht); p. pr. & vb. n. Retching.] [AS.
   hr[ae]can to clear the throat, hawk, fr. hraca throat; akin
   to G. rachen, and perhaps to E. rack neck.]
   To make an effort to vomit; to strain, as in vomiting.
   [Written also reach.]
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         Beloved Julia, hear me still beseeching!
         (Here he grew inarticulate with retching.) --Byron.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

reach
    n 1: the limits within which something can be effective; "range
         of motion"; "he was beyond the reach of their fire" [syn:
         range, reach]
    2: an area in which something acts or operates or has power or
       control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; "a piano has a
       greater range than the human voice"; "the ambit of municipal
       legislation"; "within the compass of this article"; "within
       the scope of an investigation"; "outside the reach of the
       law"; "in the political orbit of a world power" [syn:
       scope, range, reach, orbit, compass, ambit]
    3: the act of physically reaching or thrusting out [syn:
       reach, reaching, stretch]
    4: the limit of capability; "within the compass of education"
       [syn: compass, range, reach, grasp]
    v 1: reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit
         Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We
         barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC
         machine before the weekend starts" [syn: reach, make,
         attain, hit, arrive at, gain]
    2: reach a point in time, or a certain state or level; "The
       thermometer hit 100 degrees"; "This car can reach a speed of
       140 miles per hour" [syn: reach, hit, attain]
    3: move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a
       metaphorical sense; "Government reaches out to the people"
       [syn: reach, reach out]
    4: be in or establish communication with; "Our advertisements
       reach millions"; "He never contacted his children after he
       emigrated to Australia" [syn: reach, get through, get
       hold of, contact]
    5: to gain with effort; "she achieved her goal despite setbacks"
       [syn: achieve, accomplish, attain, reach]
    6: to extend as far as; "The sunlight reached the wall"; "Can he
       reach?" "The chair must not touch the wall" [syn: reach,
       extend to, touch]
    7: reach a goal, e.g., "make the first team"; "We made it!";
       "She may not make the grade" [syn: reach, make, get to,
       progress to]
    8: place into the hands or custody of; "hand me the spoon,
       please"; "Turn the files over to me, please"; "He turned over
       the prisoner to his lawyers" [syn: pass, hand, reach,
       pass on, turn over, give]
    9: to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"
       [syn: strive, reach, strain]

The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

REACH, n.  The radius of action of the human hand.  The area within
which it is possible (and customary) to gratify directly the
propensity to provide.

    This is a truth, as old as the hills,
        That life and experience teach:
    The poor man suffers that keenest of ills,
        An impediment of his reach.
                                                                  G.J.