attack
nounEtymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Italian a- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des- Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- Proto-Germanic *stikaną Proto-West Germanic *stekander. Old French atachier Old French destachier Middle French destacherbor. Italian distaccare Italian staccare Italian attaccarebor. French attaquer French attaquebor. English attack Borrowed from French attaque, derived from the verb attaquer, from Italian attaccare (“to join, attach”) (used in attaccare battaglia (“to join battle”)), from Frankish *stakkijan (“to stick, stick to, attach”). Doublet of attach. Displaced native Middle English onresen, from Old English onrǣsan (“to attack”); and Middle English resinge (“an assault, attack”) (compare Old English onrǣs (“an attack”)).
- borrowed from attaque
Definitions
An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
- From 1906 to 1960, there were forty-six recorded shark attacks, half of which were fatal.
An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object,…
An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
- “I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ? Why didn’t I telephone ? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”
- They claimed the censorship of the article was an attack on free speech.
A time in which one attacks
A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
- The army timed their attack to coincide with the local celebrations.
›+ 22 more definitionsshow fewer
The beginning of active operations on anything.
- Having washed the plates from dinner, I made an attack on the laundry.
An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
- birthday attack; denial-of-service attack
Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the…
Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
The sudden onset of a disease or condition.
- I've had an attack of the flu.
An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of…
The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
- Eric Reed was a curious choice as pianist, since his busy Petersonian attack is the antithesis of Lewis's, but he acquitted himself with panache, […]
The amount of time taken for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum…
The amount of time taken for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).
The initial sensory impact of a wine.
Short for heart attack.
To apply violent force to someone or something.
- This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened.
- Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper…
To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar).
- She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts.
- It was puzzling to read a column that claimed to be attacking me, yet espoused the main ideas in my article.
- In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects.
To begin to affect
To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
- On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever.
- Hydrofluoric acid […] attacks the glass.
To deal with something in a direct way
To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
- We’ll have dinner before we attack the biology homework.
- I attacked the meal with a hearty appetite.
- He filled a basin with water, and, with an old brush and piece of sandsoap, attacked the stove.
To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket.
To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly.
To move forward in an active attempt to score a point, as opposed to trying not to…
To move forward in an active attempt to score a point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
- Six successive defeats had left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table but, clearly under instructions to attack from the outset, Bolton started far the brighter.
To accelerate quickly in an attempt to get ahead of the other riders.
(Of a chemical species) To approach a chemical species or bond in order to form a bond…
(Of a chemical species) To approach a chemical species or bond in order to form a bond with it.
Designed or kept for the purpose of confrontation.
- attack dog, attack ad
The neighborhood
- synonymabuse
- synonymaggress
- synonymassail
- synonymassault
- synonymattack
- synonymbeat
- synonymbeleaguer
- synonymbepommel
- synonymbeset
- synonymbesiege
- synonymbombard
- synonymcharge
- antonymdefend
- neighborattach
- neighboracid attack
- neighborAdams-Stokes attack
- neighborStokes-Adams attack
- neighborarson attack
- neighborasthma attack
- neighborasthmatic attack
- neighborbillion laughs attack
- neighborbioattack
- neighborbio-attack
- neighborbirthday attack
- neighborByzantine attack
Derived
angle of attack, attack ad, attack aircraft, attack au fer, attack dog, attack helicopter, attacking midfielder, attacking zone, attack is the best form of defence, attack is the best form of defense, attacklike, attackman, attack page, attack plan, attack rate, attack surface, attack therapy, attack time, attack timing, attack vector, attackworthy, complement membrane attack complex, line of attack, maximum attack, membrane attack complex, nonattack, nonattackable, open the attack, personally attack, plan of attack, the best defence is attack, attackable, unattackable, attackee, reattack, unattacked
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at attack. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at attack. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
9 hops · closes at attack
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA