Overreach: meaning, example and synonyms
Overreachv. To fail by trying to do more than one's power or ability allows.
Example
By trying to regulate every aspect of the colony's trade at once, the governor overreached, and the backlash cost him the support of his allies.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- overextend, overstep, overdo
- Antonyms
- restrain, hold back
- Memory tip
- Over + reach: stretch too far and you lose your balance.
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Check yourself: Overreach in context
The empire ______ when it tried to hold territories on three frontiers at once, stretching its armies so thin that it could defend none of them.
Answer: overreached. Trying to do more than its armies could manage, and failing, is overreaching. Gleaned, brooded and emulated don't describe attempting too much.
The court ruled that the agency had ______ by issuing rules on matters that the legislature had never authorized it to regulate.
Answer: overreached. Acting beyond the authority it was given means the agency overreached. Gleaned, emulated and constricted don't mean exceeding one's powers.