attach
Americanverb (used with object)
-
attaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attached,
past participle, past
-
attaching
present participle
-
to fasten or affix; join; connect.
to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.
- Antonyms:
- detach
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to join in action or function; make part of.
to attach oneself to a group.
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Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.
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to include as a quality or condition of something.
One proviso is attached to this legacy.
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to assign or attribute.
to attach significance to a gesture.
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to bind by ties of affection or regard.
You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.
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Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.
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Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.
verb (used without object)
-
attaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
attached,
past participle, past
-
attaching
present participle
verb
-
to join, fasten, or connect
-
(reflexive or passive) to become associated with or join, as in a business or other venture
he attached himself to the expedition
-
to be inherent (in) or connected (with)
responsibility attaches to the job
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to attribute or ascribe
to attach importance to an event
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to include or append, esp as a condition
a proviso is attached to the contract
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(usually passive) military to place on temporary duty with another unit
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(usually passive) to put (a member of an organization) to work in a different unit or agency, either with an expectation of reverting to, or while retaining some part of, the original working arrangement
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to appoint officially
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law to arrest or take (a person, property, etc) with lawful authority
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obsolete to seize
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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attachsimple
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attachessimple
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have attachedperfect
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has attachedperfect
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am attachingprogressive
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are attachingprogressive
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is attachingprogressive
-
have been attachingperfect progressive
-
has been attachingperfect progressive
Past
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attachedsimple
-
had attachedperfect
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was attachingprogressive
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were attachingprogressive
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had been attachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of attach
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English atachen, from Anglo-French atacher “to seize,” Old French atachier “to fasten,” alteration of estachier “to fasten with or to a stake,” from estach(e), from Frankish stakka “stake”; cf. stake 1
Explanation
Use the verb attach when you need to join things together, like a stamp that you attach to a letter. When you attach something, you join it or tie it to something else. The word can be used to show physically joining things, like a printer that you attach to your computer, or to show a strong personal connection. For example, you can attach yourself to a political cause or to a group of friends.
Vocabulary lists containing attach
"Hitching a Ride"
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 5
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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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.
See Examples For:
"There are also no penalties or incentives to drive compliance. Some public bodies told us this had added to uncertainty around the level of priority to attach to carbon reduction."
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Measuring only a few millionths of a millimeter, the molecule can attach to gold surfaces through sulfur atoms.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
Struggles to grow ad revenue reveal the downside of AI for Internet companies as consumers rely more on chatbots and agents to which tech companies have yet to attach ad features.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
But earlier this week, a controversial pilot program that would attach hundreds of license plate readers to streetlights around the city cleared the City Council, and it is expected to launch in the near future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Pity you can’t attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy,” said Harry.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Even then, the streamer attaches some pragmatic caveats to his disdain.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
HGF then attaches to a receptor called c-met on the surface of satellite cells.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
What if it attaches conditions that force religious schools to choose between accessing public benefits and compromising their values?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
The precision with which each woman is painted attaches the reader to the characters and the characters to the plot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
In reduced circumstances the desire to live attaches itself to strange objects.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Macfarlane's laboratory has spent years developing ways to construct different types of nanoparticles using attached polymer chains.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Detritus accumulates like a wake behind a songwriter because songwriters are loath to continue to try to promote a piece of material that has any disappointment attached to it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Unite national officer Oliver Richardson added in a statement that "a number of unions across Europe have the same" agreement and that his union's deal is not "attached to, nor dependent on company performance".
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
"I was to face a charge of obstruction, based on my having waved a pole with balloons attached to the danger of passers-by," he recalled.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Ropes were attached inside the ship and a bunch of strong men pulled on them.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
In late 2024, the lawyer asked the court to reduce the support, attaching some company records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
By attaching his name to those ranks, El-Sayed is staking out important space for Muslims in public life.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
He’s just done it more quietly, without attaching the force of his weird personality as a condition.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
The researchers wanted to know whether E-cadherin and its partners were attaching to the dying cell in the same way they normally attach neighboring epithelial cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
I was using Etienne’s pocketknife to tighten up screws attaching a cable that lifted the blade, to make sure it would fall cleanly.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
