attack

American  

[uh-tak] / əˈtæk /

verb (used with object)

• attacks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• attacked,
  past participle,  past
• attacking
  present participle

1. to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon; begin fighting with.

   He attacked him with his bare hands.

   Synonyms:

   charge, storm

   Antonyms:

   defend

2. to begin hostilities against; start an offensive against.

   to attack the enemy.

3. to blame or abuse violently or bitterly.

4. to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly.

   He attacked his opponent's statement.

   Synonyms:

   abuse, oppugn, impugn, censure

   Antonyms:

   defend

5. to try to destroy, especially with verbal abuse.

   to attack the mayor's reputation.

6. to set about (a task) or go to work on (a thing) vigorously.

   to attack housecleaning;

   to attack the hamburger hungrily.

7. (of disease, destructive agencies, etc.) to begin to affect.

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verb (used without object)

• attacks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• attacked,
  past participle,  past
• attacking
  present participle

1. to make an attack; begin hostilities.

noun

• attacks
  plural

1. the act of attacking; onslaught; assault.

   Synonyms:

   encounter, onset

   Antonyms:

   defense

2. a military offensive against an enemy or enemy position.

3. Pathology. seizure by disease or illness.

   an attack of indigestion.

4. the beginning or initiating of any action; onset.

5. an aggressive move in a performance or contest.

6. the approach or manner of approach in beginning a musical phrase.

attack British  

/ əˈtæk /

verb

1. to launch a physical assault (against) with or without weapons; begin hostilities (with)

2. (intr) to take the initiative in a game, sport, etc

   after a few minutes, the team began to attack

3. (tr) to direct hostile words or writings at; criticize or abuse vehemently

4. (tr) to turn one's mind or energies vigorously to (a job, problem, etc)

5. (tr) to begin to injure or affect adversely; corrode, corrupt, or infect

   rust attacked the metal

6. (tr) to attempt to rape

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noun

1. the act or an instance of attacking

2. strong criticism or abuse

   an unjustified attack on someone's reputation

3. an offensive move in a game, sport, etc

4. commencement of a task, etc

5. any sudden and usually severe manifestation of a disease or disorder

   a heart attack

   an attack of indigestion

6. ball games the players in a team whose main role is to attack the opponents' goal or territory

7. music decisiveness in beginning a passage, movement, or piece

8. music the speed with which a note reaches its maximum volume

9. an attempted rape

Usage

What is a basic definition of attack? Attack means to attempt to inflict harm with physical violence, to attempt to inflict harm with words, or to initiate a military offensive against another. Attack has many other senses as a verb and a noun. Attack means to engage in physical violence against something with the intent to cause physical harm, damage, or death. Attacking doesn’t have to result in harm, however. For example, a person may be attacked by bees but manage to escape before actually getting stung. Someone or something that attacks is an attacker.

• Real-life examples: A lion will attack with its claws and teeth. In the past, soldiers would attack each other with swords, axes, and other weapons. A scared person may attack a lamp thinking it is a burglar.
• Used in a sentence: Ashley relentlessly attacked the piñata with a broom handle.

Attack can also mean to try to harm someone verbally. In this sense, attack means to assault someone with criticism, insults, or harsh comments. The attempted harm would be to a person’s feelings, opinions, or arguments.

• Real-life examples: Politicians are often attacked by political opponents, critics, or even the media. Unfortunately, many people are often attacked by trolls and harassers on social media. Bad or unpopular ideas are often attacked for being impossible or foolish.
• Used in a sentence: The unpopular director was attacked on social media by fans of the movie franchise.

Attack is also used in both senses as a noun.

• Used in a sentence: I barely survived the alligator’s attack. The company president was outraged by the reporter’s attack on his integrity.

Attack can also mean to initiate acts of war or begin a military offensive. This sense can also be used as a noun.

• Real-life examples: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1863, General Robert E. Lee attacked the Union army at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Thermopylae, almost 7,000 Greek soldiers attempted to resist the Persians’ attack.
• Used in a sentence: The United Nations was outraged by the country’s unprovoked attack of its neighbor.

Synonym Usage

Attack, assail, assault, molest all mean to set upon someone forcibly, with hostile or violent intent. Attack is the most general word and applies to a beginning of hostilities, especially those definitely planned: to attack from ambush. Assail implies vehement, sudden, and sometimes repeated attack: to assail with weapons or with gossip. Assault almost always implies bodily violence: to assault with intent to kill. To molest is to harass, to threaten, or to assault: He was safe, and where no one could molest him.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• attacker
  noun
• reattack
  verb
• attackable
  adjective
• attacking
  adjective
• nonattacking
  adjective
• postattack
  adjective
• proattack
  adjective
• unattackable
  adjective
• unattacked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• attacks
  plural

Participles

• attacking
  present
• attacked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• attack
  simple
• attacks
  simple
• have attacked
  perfect
• has attacked
  perfect
• am attacking
  progressive
• are attacking
  progressive
• is attacking
  progressive
• have been attacking
  perfect progressive
• has been attacking
  perfect progressive

Past

• attacked
  simple
• had attacked
  perfect
• was attacking
  progressive
• were attacking
  progressive
• had been attacking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will attack
  simple
• will have attacked
  perfect
• will be attacking
  progressive
• will have been attacking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of attack

First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier atta(c)que, from Middle French atta(c)quer, from Italian attaccare “to attack”; cf. attach

Explanation

When you attack, you charge or advance violently. It's scary to watch a big dog attack a smaller dog. In the military, an attack is an advance of troops or the use of armed force against an enemy. When one little kid attacks another, there usually aren't any bombs or weapons involved, but the idea of force or hostility is the same. You might also attack an opponent in a game, or withstand a verbal attack from a classmate during a debate. The Italian source of attack is attacco, "an attack," from attaccare, "join battle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

attack attacks attacked attacking

Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister who has denounced Netanyahu for not preventing the attack, joined mourners at Nova to remember the attack by the "monsters" three years ago.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

At the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which was also devastated by the attack, mourners sat in silence in assembled chairs as they watched the raising of an Israeli flag.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

In the latest sign of AI’s cyber potential, hackers used a Chinese artificial-intelligence agent to attack South Korea’s biggest banks and steal the personal information of 68,000 people, The Wall Street Journal reports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Police Scotland have appealed for information about the attack and have set up a dedicated portal, external where information can be submitted anonymously.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

I’m sobbing and hiccuping so hard it takes me a minute to tell Auntie Nina it’s an asthma attack.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Rather than forming a single scale that runs from minor disputes to lethal attacks, different types of aggression may arise under different social and evolutionary pressures.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton dove deep into his housing platform and lobbed a few attacks at his Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra, during a town hall with Los Angeles news outlets Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The postboxes for each household bear stickers put there after the attacks three years ago: red indicates those killed, and black those taken hostage.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

UK Maritime Trade Operations said there had been nine attacks so far this month, half of all of September in the waterway and Persian Gulf combined.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

He managed to convince German commanders he was on their side, then fed them damaging misinformation, diverting their attention from upcoming Soviet attacks.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

In the past two weeks alone, nine commercial vessels were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in two seafarer injuries and one death, according to the International Maritime Organization and the U.K.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

In recent days, Russia has attacked several bridges across the Dnipro river that divides the city, causing traffic gridlock and transport disruption.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

After the Southern Bridge was attacked on Thursday, passengers described how dust from a blast wave entered their carriage through the ventilation system.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Smit Machchhar said he was on the ground and still being attacked when he realised the plane carrying more than 170 passengers was sinking and he had to do something.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

That’s how American kids learned what to do in case the Soviets attacked.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Rather than broadly attacking oral bacteria with antimicrobial treatments, the long term goal is to find ways to influence the balance of the microbial community itself.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

He needs his most potent attacking midfielder, Scott McTominay, at the heart of things and needs more training sessions to drill his message into his players.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Editors from London to Hollywood, elated that blood-sucking predators are attacking A-listers on their private beaches, have posted lurid headlines about “Vegan Vampire” ticks and “Billionaires Under Siege.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Eritrea has a 700-mile Red Sea coastline across from Yemen, where Houthi rebels have been attacking Saudi Arabia, and sits near a globally critical shipping route through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The tribes who are our friends must have convinced our enemies to stop attacking us, and it is no longer dangerous to leave the fort to hunt or fish.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Related Words

• ambush
• assail
• assault
• beat
• besiege
• blast
• bombard
• charge
• harm
• hit
• hurt
• infiltrate
• invade
• raid
• stab
• storm
• strike