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attach

[uh-tach]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to fasten or affix; join; connect: to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.
  2. to join in action or function; make part of: to attach oneself to a group.
  3. Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.
  4. to include as a quality or condition of something: One proviso is attached to this legacy.
  5. to assign or attribute: to attach significance to a gesture.
  6. to bind by ties of affection or regard: You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.
  7. Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.
  8. Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to adhere; pertain; belong (usually followed by to or upon): No blame attaches to him.
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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

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1. subjoin, append, add, annex.

Antonyms

1. detach.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

securefixaffixadhereaddlinkconnecttiestickputassignsendallocateannexbindcoupleuniteprefixappendrivet

Examples from the Web for attaching

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for attaching

attach

verb (mainly tr)
  1. to join, fasten, or connect
  2. (reflexive or passive) to become associated with or join, as in a business or other venturehe attached himself to the expedition
  3. (intr foll by to) to be inherent (in) or connected (with)responsibility attaches to the job
  4. to attribute or ascribeto attach importance to an event
  5. to include or append, esp as a conditiona proviso is attached to the contract
  6. (usually passive) military to place on temporary duty with another unit
  7. (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
  8. to appoint officially
  9. law to arrest or take (a person, property, etc) with lawful authority
  10. obsolete to seize
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Derived Formsattachable, adjectiveattacher, noun

Word Origin

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

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with attaching

attach

see no strings attached.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.