reach out

1. 1.

   move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense

   “Government reaches out to the people”

   Synonymsreach

   Broadermove
2. 2.

   reach outward in space

   “The awning extends several feet over the sidewalk”

   Synonymsextendpoke out

   Broaderbe
3. 3.

   attempt to communicate

   “I try to reach out to my daughter but she doesn't want to have anything to do with me”

   Broaderinteract

   Narrowerdraw out

Questions about reach out

What does reach out mean?

reach out means "move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for reach out?

Close synonyms include reach, extend, poke out. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is reach out a common word?

reach out is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.