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o·ver·reach (ō′vər-rēch)
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v. o·ver·reached, o·ver·reach·ing, o·ver·reach·es
v.tr.
1. To reach or extend over or beyond.
2. To miss by reaching too far or attempting too much: overreach a goal.
3. To defeat (oneself) by going too far or by doing or trying to gain too much.
4. To get the better of, especially by deceitful cleverness; outwit.
v.intr.
1. To reach or go too far.
2. To overreach oneself.
3. To outwit or cheat others.
4. To strike the front part of a hind foot against the rear or side part of a forefoot or foreleg on the same side of the body. Used of a horse.
over·reach′ n.
o′ver·reacher n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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