English Dictionary

OVERREACH

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does overreach mean? 

OVERREACH (verb)
  The verb OVERREACH has 2 senses:

1. fail by aiming too high or trying too hardplay

2. beat through cleverness and witplay

  Familiarity information: OVERREACH used as a verb is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


OVERREACH (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they overreach  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it overreaches  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: overreached  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: overreached  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: overreaching  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Fail by aiming too high or trying too hard

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "overreach" is one way to...):

fail; go wrong; miscarry (be unsuccessful)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody


Sense 2

Meaning:

Beat through cleverness and wit

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

beat; circumvent; outfox; outsmart; outwit; overreach

Context example:

She outfoxed her competitors

Hypernyms (to "overreach" is one way to...):

exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)

Verb group:

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot overreach Sue


 Context examples 


It may be profitable to you to reflect, in future, that there never were greed and cunning in the world yet, that did not do too much, and overreach themselves.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Jack of all trades, master of none." (English proverb)

"Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves." (Native American proverb, Assiniboine)

"Shall the sheep go astray, they will be led by the ill goat." (Arabic proverb)

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." (Danish proverb)



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