attachment
[uh-tach-muhnt]
- an act of attaching or the state of being attached.
- a feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; devotion; regard: a fond attachment to his cousin; a profound attachment to the cause of peace.
- Psychology.
- an emotional bond between an infant or toddler and primary caregiver, a strong bond being vital for the child’s normal behavioral and social development.
- an enduring emotional bond that develops between one adult and another in an intimate relationship: romantic attachment.
- something that attaches; a fastening or tie: the attachments of a harness; the attachments of a pair of skis.
- an additional or supplementary device: attachments for an electric drill.
- Law. seizure of property or person by legal authority, especially seizure of a defendant's property to prevent its dissipation before trial or to acquire jurisdiction over it.
- something attached, as a document added to a letter.
- a computer or electronic file sent with an email.
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Origin of attachment
Synonyms
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5. See addition.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
connectionfriendshipaffinityloyaltydevotionclampjunctioncouplingjointfastenerlinktiebondadapterconnectorauxiliaryextensionannexadditionextraExamples from the Web for attachment
Contemporary Examples
The problem with this attachment to a particular place, though, is that it can seem limiting.
The locals worship their ancestors, and their attachment to family land is almost visceral.
For those in the movement, this means cultivating an attachment to Israel while fostering critical thinking.
Yet he made a rare exception for 'Ocean,' confirming his attachment to it.
The combination of emotional abuse and overt sexualization resulted in an attachment disorder.
Historical Examples
This satisfied him, for he cared nothing for the attachment of those under his command.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
To increase the attachment of our people to the Union, our laws should be just.
I shall trouble you meanwhile to prevent his forming any other attachment when he comes to town.
Lady SusanJane Austen
And had not I proofs of his generous conduct and attachment to me?
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
What I value him so much for it his fidelity to myself, and his attachment to the whole family.
Georgie's PresentMiss Brightwell
attachment
- a means of securing; a fastening
- (often foll by to) affection or regard (for); devotion (to)attachment to a person or to a cause
- an object to be attached, esp a supplementary partan attachment for an electric drill
- the act of attaching or the state of being attached
- the arrest of a person for disobedience to a court order
- the lawful seizure of property and placing of it under control of a court
- a writ authorizing such arrest or seizure
- law the binding of a debt in the hands of a garnishee until its disposition has been decided by the court
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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 attachment
n.
c.1400, "arrest of a person on judicial warrant" (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), from French attachement, from attacher (see attach). Application to property (including, later, wages) dates from 1590s; meaning "sympathy, devotion" is recorded from 1704; that of "something that is attached to something else" dates from 1797 and has become perhaps the most common use since the rise of e-mail.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper