attaché

American  

[a-ta-shey, at-uh-, uh-tash-ey] / æ tæˈʃeɪ, ˌæt ə-, əˈtæʃ eɪ /

noun

1. a diplomatic official attached to an embassy or legation, especially in a technical capacity.

   a commercial attaché;

   a cultural attaché.

2. a military officer who is assigned to a diplomatic post in a foreign country in order to gather military information.

   an air attaché;

   an army attaché;

   a naval attaché.

3. Also attache attaché case.

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attaché British  

/ ataʃe, əˈtæʃeɪ /

noun

1. a specialist attached to a diplomatic mission

   military attaché

2. a junior member of the staff of an embassy or legation

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attaché Cultural  

1. A diplomatic officer attached to an embassy or consulate. Most attachés have specialties, such as military attachés, cultural attachés, economic attachés, and so forth.

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Discover More

Some nations disguise spies as attachés.

Etymology

Origin of attaché

1825–35; < French: literally, attached, past participle of attacher to attach

Explanation

An attaché is a thin briefcase used for carrying papers. It is sometimes called an attaché case. You may notice that in spy movies, an attaché is often swapped out by the bad guy, and then the good guy spends the rest of the movie trying to get it back. Attaché comes from the French attacher, which literally means "attached," and it was first applied to someone working for a diplomat, such as a junior officer. Now an attaché is a technical expert assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission. If you are an expert on the customs of a certain country, you may be asked to be a cultural attaché and advice the ambassador for that country.

Example Sentences

“It’s a five alarm emergency that’s dividing North America from Europe,” said John Foreman, a former U.K. defense attaché in Moscow and Kyiv.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

And in May, British diplomat Capt Adrian Coghill was given a week to leave Russia, days after the Russian defence attaché was expelled from London for alleged espionage as an "undeclared military intelligence officer".

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2025

Germany said he and his companion were kidnapped, and responded by summoning Vietnam’s ambassador for talks and expelling its intelligence attaché.

From Seattle Times • May 21, 2024

As an indication of warming ties, the Israeli military earlier on Monday appointed a colonel as defence attaché to Morocco.

From Reuters • Jul. 17, 2023

After a few years he was made a military attaché to our legation in Berlin, where he devoted his energy to the study of military science and organisation.

From A Fantasy of Far Japan Summer Dream Dialogues by Suyematsu, Baron Kencho

Related Words

• backpack
• briefcase
• gear
• handbag
• kit
• pack
• packet
• pocket
• pouch
• purse
• sack
• suitcase