detach
Americanverb (used with object)
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detaches,
present (3rd person singular)
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detached,
past participle, past
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detaching
present participle
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to unfasten and separate; disengage; disunite.
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Military. to send away (a regiment, ship, etc.) on a special mission.
verb
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to disengage and separate or remove, as by pulling; unfasten; disconnect
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military to separate (a small unit) from a larger, esp for a special assignment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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detachabilitynoun
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detachernoun
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nondetachabilitynoun
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predetachverb (used with object)
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detachableadjective
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nondetachableadjective
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self-detachingadjective
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undetachableadjective
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detachablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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detachsimple
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detachessimple
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have detachedperfect
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has detachedperfect
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am detachingprogressive
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are detachingprogressive
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is detachingprogressive
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have been detachingperfect progressive
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has been detachingperfect progressive
Past
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detachedsimple
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had detachedperfect
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was detachingprogressive
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were detachingprogressive
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had been detachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detach
1470–80; < Middle French détacher, Old French destachier; see dis- 1, attach
Explanation
If you separate one thing from another, you are detaching it. As a newborn baby, you became familiar with this concept as soon as your umbilical cord was cut! You can use the word detach to talk about physically pulling two things apart. For example, when your shirt comes back from the dry cleaner missing a few buttons, it’s safe to assume they got detached during the cleaning process. This word is easy to remember when you consider its antonym attach. Once you have attached that election pin to your lapel, you better detach it when your candidate loses!
Vocabulary lists containing detach
de-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Especially when people are laid off, the first thing many do is roll over,” said Christopher Bahnsen, an adviser in Arvada, Colo. “Emotionally, these people want to detach from that employer.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The team was about to take her to the operating room when he was finally able to detach it.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
As smaller pieces detach, the larger plate loses the force pulling it downward.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026
Last year, U.S. regulators recalled more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warning that the truck’s exterior panels could detach while driving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
“Now, Handel, I am quite free from the flavour of sour grapes, upon my soul and honour! Not being bound to her, can you not detach yourself from her?—I told you I should be disagreeable.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
When the protein detaches, the RNA becomes available for producing viral proteins instead.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
Ter Kulve is set to lead the company behind Ben & Jerry’s and Breyers as it detaches from consumer-goods giant Unilever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
From the surface displacements, the researchers could glean clues to what was happening 1000 meters below, near the so-called grounding line—the spot where the frozen behemoth detaches from bedrock.
From Science Magazine ● May 19, 2024
As the soil dries, the thistle dies and detaches from the root.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
The crew of the good rover detaches the pop-tent from the breached rover and reattaches it to theirs.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Its detached, dispassionate approach vaguely recalls the work of another Kurosawa: Akira, who turned 75 shortly before releasing his late-career stunner “Ran.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
She described feeling "detached" from herself, not trusting her own judgement any more.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The sprawling compound comes with a detached three-bedroom guesthouse, an office with an apartment above the garage, and expansive terraces.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Ryanair in a statement said the flight "returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window detached during the flight. The aircraft landed normally and the passengers returned to the terminal."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Troubled by feeling so depressed, so detached from life, Ellsberg started seeing Dr. Lewis Fielding, a psychiatrist, four days a week.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Dr. Kiat explains that feathers grow over two to three weeks before detaching from the blood supply and becoming nonliving material.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026
Investigators have said the accident was caused by one of the engines catching fire and detaching during takeoff.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
Jackson charged Gorsuch with disregarding “the clear design of the ADA” by fixating on “one isolated provision” and detaching it “from its place in the overall scheme.”
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2025
They administered a sedative before carefully detaching him and applying a tight bandage to the wound.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025
The dog, detaching its forepaws from Toomer’s shoulders, moved toward Ben, menacing, suspicious.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
