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)
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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
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have been attachingperfect progressive
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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:
Although BFT could break down E-cadherin, the toxin did not appear to attach directly to that protein.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 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
At one Saturday morning workshop in Brighton, Jayne Eagle shows her students how to attach a patch of fabric behind a tear so the cat-face design peeps through.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
In other words, it’s not the earnings that’s the problem, it’s the multiple that investors attach to those earnings.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Starfish squat over mussels and limpets, attach their million little suckers and then slowly lift with incredible power until the prey is broken from the rock.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
What they could not explain was how the toxin first attaches to intestinal cells and begins its attack.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 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
But he now attaches a condition to that advice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
It also attaches to regulatory regions throughout the genome that control genes needed to preserve muscle stem cell identity.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
I show him how to find the corner pieces first, and I compliment him each time he attaches a new piece.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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
"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
Instead of binding to claudin-4 receptors on colon cells, BFT attached to the decoy proteins.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
"We're all kind of afraid," said doctor Jennifer Bacani McKenney, whose practice is attached to the Fredonia hospital.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Perhaps that is why I feel so attached to him.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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
Department of Transportation attaching itself to a series paid for by companies it regulates, including United Airlines, Chase Travel, Toyota, Boeing and Royal Caribbean.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
“The brands are realizing that and attaching themselves more to longer-form content.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
All you’d have to do, after attaching yourself, would be to lean your weight forward and not fight.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
