These words refer to movement towards a goal. Come is the most informal and general of these words. Its emphasis is on movement towards the observer or movement seen from the perspective of the intended or likely goal: the man coming towards me; trains coming into and leaving the station. The word can indicate the actual appearance of something at the goal, but it can also indicate mere movement towards something without suggesting that it is or will be achieved: He was coming home from work when the accident occurred.

With the remaining words, there is no suggestion of movement either towards or away from the observer. In contrast to come , arrive stresses the actual achievement of a goal: If he were coming , he would have arrived by now ?unless something happened to him along the way. The word is otherwise neutral in its overtones, suggesting in itself neither ease nor effort of movement. At its most neutral, reach can suggest a midway point or stop in an ongoing movement: having reached the third chapter before realizing what the author was getting at; hoping to reach Milan by nightfall and Venice the next day. When the word applies to the achievement of a final goal, however, it often suggests the culmination of a slow, painstaking or methodical process: reaching the summit of Everest after years of planning and countless failures. At any rate, the word can suggest more effort than arrive or possibly the working through of a devious or uncertain course: reaching the address after picking his way through a maze of sinuous streets. Gain intensifies the implications of effort inherent in reach . Successful struggle against odds or in the face of peril or uncertainty can be suggested by the word: gaining the embattled city after heavy casualties. Often, the word specifically suggests upward movement: gaining a precarious perch from which to view the procession.