overreach

Meaning

Verb

1. (ambitransitive) To reach above or beyond, especially to an excessive degree.
2. (ambitransitive, transitive) To reach above or beyond, especially to an excessive degree.
3. (ambitransitive, figuratively) To do something beyond an appropriate limit, or beyond one's ability; to overextend.
4. (ambitransitive, reflexive) Of a horse: to strike the heel of a forefoot with the toe of a hindfoot.
5. (ambitransitive, archaic) To deceive, to swindle.
6. (intransitive) To sail on one tack farther than is necessary.
7. (archaic, transitive) To get the better of, especially by artifice or cunning; to outwit.

Noun

1. (also, countable, figuratively, uncountable) An act of extending or reaching over, especially if too far or too much; overextension.
2. (countable, uncountable) Of a horse: an act of striking the heel of a forefoot with the toe of a hindfoot; an injury caused by this action.

Synonyms

circumvent

outwit

outfox

outsmart

beat

surmount

outdo

overstep

fool

go beyond

jockey

outflank

outguess

outmanoeuvre

out of reach

outreach

outstrip

overact

overdo

overdraw

overextend

overpass

overrun

overshoot

overtop

pass

put on

surpass

transcend

transcendence

transgress

mump

overexpand

befool

deceive

decline

diddle

do

double-cross

exceed

Translations

υπερβαίνω

übervorteilen

εξαπατώ

aldatmak

ξεπερνώ

dominer

vaincre

ne pas avoir les moyens de ses ambitions

donner un mandat trop ambitieux

se fixer des objectifs irréalistes

farla in barba

aanslaan

burlar

exceder

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌəʊvəˈɹiːt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: overrechen

In summary

The verb is from Middle English overrechen (“to rise above; to extend beyond or over; to encroach; to catch, overtake; to reach; to obtain wrongfully (?); to take up (a book) to revise it”) [and other forms], equivalent to over- + reach; the noun is derived from the verb or from the phrase to reach over.