attack
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon; begin fighting with.
He attacked him with his bare hands.
- Antonyms:
- defend
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to begin hostilities against; start an offensive against.
to attack the enemy.
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to blame or abuse violently or bitterly.
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to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly.
He attacked his opponent's statement.
- Antonyms:
- defend
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to try to destroy, especially with verbal abuse.
to attack the mayor's reputation.
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to set about (a task) or go to work on (a thing) vigorously.
to attack housecleaning;
to attack the hamburger hungrily.
-
(of disease, destructive agencies, etc.) to begin to affect.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
the act of attacking; onslaught; assault.
- Antonyms:
- defense
-
a military offensive against an enemy or enemy position.
-
Pathology. seizure by disease or illness.
an attack of indigestion.
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the beginning or initiating of any action; onset.
-
an aggressive move in a performance or contest.
-
the approach or manner of approach in beginning a musical phrase.
verb
-
to launch a physical assault (against) with or without weapons; begin hostilities (with)
-
(intr) to take the initiative in a game, sport, etc
after a few minutes, the team began to attack
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(tr) to direct hostile words or writings at; criticize or abuse vehemently
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(tr) to turn one's mind or energies vigorously to (a job, problem, etc)
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(tr) to begin to injure or affect adversely; corrode, corrupt, or infect
rust attacked the metal
-
(tr) to attempt to rape
noun
-
the act or an instance of attacking
-
strong criticism or abuse
an unjustified attack on someone's reputation
-
an offensive move in a game, sport, etc
-
commencement of a task, etc
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any sudden and usually severe manifestation of a disease or disorder
a heart attack
an attack of indigestion
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ball games the players in a team whose main role is to attack the opponents' goal or territory
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music decisiveness in beginning a passage, movement, or piece
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music the speed with which a note reaches its maximum volume
-
an attempted rape
Usage
What is a basic definition of attack? Attack means to attempt to inflict harm with physical violence, to attempt to inflict harm with words, or to initiate a military offensive against another. Attack has many other senses as a verb and a noun.Attack means to engage in physical violence against something with the intent to cause physical harm, damage, or death. Attacking doesn’t have to result in harm, however. For example, a person may be attacked by bees but manage to escape before actually getting stung. Someone or something that attacks is an attacker.
- Real-life examples: A lion will attack with its claws and teeth. In the past, soldiers would attack each other with swords, axes, and other weapons. A scared person may attack a lamp thinking it is a burglar.
- Used in a sentence: Ashley relentlessly attacked the piñata with a broom handle.
- Real-life examples: Politicians are often attacked by political opponents, critics, or even the media. Unfortunately, many people are often attacked by trolls and harassers on social media. Bad or unpopular ideas are often attacked for being impossible or foolish.
- Used in a sentence: The unpopular director was attacked on social media by fans of the movie franchise.
- Used in a sentence: I barely survived the alligator’s attack.The company president was outraged by the reporter’s attack on his integrity.
- Real-life examples: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1863, General Robert E. Lee attacked the Union army at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Thermopylae, almost 7,000 Greek soldiers attempted to resist the Persians’ attack.
- Used in a sentence: The United Nations was outraged by the country’s unprovoked attack of its neighbor.
Related Words
Attack, assail, assault, molest all mean to set upon someone forcibly, with hostile or violent intent. Attack is the most general word and applies to a beginning of hostilities, especially those definitely planned: to attack from ambush. Assail implies vehement, sudden, and sometimes repeated attack: to assail with weapons or with gossip. Assault almost always implies bodily violence: to assault with intent to kill. To molest is to harass, to threaten, or to assault: He was safe, and where no one could molest him.
Other Word Forms
- attackable adjective
- attacker noun
- attacking adjective
- nonattacking adjective
- postattack adjective
- proattack adjective
- reattack verb
- unattackable adjective
- unattacked adjective
Etymology
Origin of attack
First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier atta(c)que, from Middle French atta(c)quer, from Italian attaccare “to attack”; attach
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Residents in the town are still reeling from the attack, with some visibly in tears and comforting one another as Carney and other leaders addressed their grief.
From BBC
The 40-year-old had feared for some time that an attack like this could unfold on the streets where he had grown up.
From BBC
The presidency described the report as "malicious and biased" and an attack on "the dignity and good name" of the women.
From Barron's
Among the oil paintings, art deco ephemera and geological artifacts, I wasn’t expecting a preserved memorial from the days following the 2015 terrorist attacks, and it leveled me.
The suspects accused of attacking the agent then blended into the march, which headed southbound toward 1st Street, police said.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
