attach

[uh-tach]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attach ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to fasten or affix; join; connect: to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.

to join in action or function; make part of: to attach oneself to a group.

Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.

to include as a quality or condition of something: One proviso is attached to this legacy.

to assign or attribute: to attach significance to a gesture.

to bind by ties of affection or regard: You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.

Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.

Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.

verb (used without object)

to adhere; pertain; belong (usually followed by to or upon): No blame attaches to him.

Origin of attach

1300–50; Middle English atachen < Anglo-French atacher to seize, Old French atachier to fasten, alteration of estachier to fasten with or to a stake, equivalent to estach(e) (< Germanic *stakka stake¹) + -ier infinitive suffix

Related formsat·tach·a·ble, adjectiveat·tach·er, nounre·at·tach, verbre·at·tach·a·ble, adjectiveun·at·tach·a·ble, adjective

Can be confusedattach attaché

Synonyms for attach

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attach ON THESAURUS.COM

1. subjoin, append, add, annex.

Antonyms for attach

1. detach.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for attaching

secure, fix, affix, adhere, add, link, connect, tie, stick, put, assign, send, allocate, annex, bind, couple, unite, prefix, append, rivet

Examples from the Web for attaching

Contemporary Examples of attaching

Attaching food with skewers, toothpicks, fishing line, and twine.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship
Harley Morenstein
July 26, 2014
More members of the Twitterverse are coopting the hashtag and attaching it to concerns that seem relatively trivial.
#YesAllWomen Has Jumped the Shark
Emily Shire
May 28, 2014
Suddenly, the scarf (or whatever was attaching it from above) slipped, and she fell onto the concrete headfirst.
Thrills and Too Many Spills: The Dangers of the Circus
Marina Watts
May 5, 2014
The problem with this is that attaching all this shame to sex does end up hurting people.
Why We Need to Stop Using the Phrase ‘Walk of Shame’
Amanda Marcotte
May 1, 2014
To further complicate things, I insisted on attaching myself as the screenwriter.
Jonathan Tropper: How I Write
Noah Charney
July 3, 2013

Historical Examples of attaching

Attaching a cord to this, he let it drift to the shore, driven by the fresh wind.
King Philip
John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
He was vexed with himself for attaching so much importance to what Haldin said.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad
The attaching of a stone was necessary, in their experience; it was necessary now.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930
Various
We replied to them by attaching a white handkerchief to the top of our mast.
Perils and Captivity
Charlotte-Adlade [ne Picard] Dard
At Chippenham there was a little waiting, and some loosening and attaching of carriages.
A Pair of Blue Eyes
Thomas Hardy

British Dictionary definitions for attaching

attach

verb (mainly tr)

to join, fasten, or connect

(reflexive or passive) to become associated with or join, as in a business or other venturehe attached himself to the expedition

(intr foll by to) to be inherent (in) or connected (with)responsibility attaches to the job

to attribute or ascribeto attach importance to an event

to include or append, esp as a conditiona proviso is attached to the contract

(usually passive) military to place on temporary duty with another unit

(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

to appoint officially

law to arrest or take (a person, property, etc) with lawful authority

obsolete to seize

Derived Formsattachable, adjectiveattacher, noun

Word Origin for attach

C14: from Old French atachier to fasten, changed from estachier to fasten with a stake, from estache stake 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for attaching

attach

mid-14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from Old French atachier (11c.), earlier estachier "to attach, fix; stake up, support" (Modern French attacher, also cf. Italian attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frankish *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Germanic word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is from c.1400. Related: Attached; attaching.

Idioms and Phrases with attaching

attach

see no strings attached.