1. To extend or stretch one's hands out in the direction of someone or something. I reached toward the sky to show the officer that I was unarmed. The patient reached toward the nurse, begging her for a glass of water.

2. To extend or stretch something out in the direction of someone or something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "reach" and "toward." He reached his hand toward the foreign dignitary in a gesture of peace and friendship. I began reaching the branch toward the bees' nest try to knock it down from the roof of the porch.