detach

[dih-tach]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR detach ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to unfasten and separate; disengage; disunite.

Military. to send away (a regiment, ship, etc.) on a special mission.

Origin of detach

1470–80; < Middle French détacher, Old French destachier; see dis-¹, attach

Related formsde·tach·a·ble, adjectivede·tach·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·tach·a·bly, adverbde·tach·er, nounnon·de·tach·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·de·tach·a·ble, adjectivepre·de·tach, verb (used with object)self-de·tach·ing, adjectiveun·de·tach·a·ble, adjective

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

Related Words for detachable

mobile, ambulatory, portable, motile, adaptable, adjustable, loose, moving, removable, separable, transferable, unattached, unsteady, conveyable, deployable, liftable, portative, shiftable, turnable, unstationary

Examples from the Web for detachable

Contemporary Examples of detachable

The bond between women and detachable showerheads, after all, is both a marriage of convenience and one of love.
I Tried Cosmo’s New Lesbian Sex Tips
Samantha Allen
November 18, 2014

Historical Examples of detachable

This spear has a detachable point to which a cord is fastened.
The American Egypt
Channing Arnold
It must not be on the frame, because the frame is a detachable thing.
Arguments before the Committee on Patents of the House of Representatives, conjointly with the Senate Committee on Patents, on H.R. 19853, to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright
United States Committee on Patents
The top was detachable, and was usually made of metal or of ivory.
A Handbook of Pictorial History
Henry W. Donald
Vises on somewhat this principle can be bought, attachable and detachable at will.
Woodworking for Beginners
Charles Gardner Wheeler
They were at once detached and detachable: itself a subtle phenomenon.
I, Mary MacLane
Mary MacLane

British Dictionary definitions for detachable

detach

verb (tr)

to disengage and separate or remove, as by pulling; unfasten; disconnect

military to separate (a small unit) from a larger, esp for a special assignment

Derived Formsdetachable, adjectivedetachability, noundetacher, noun

Word Origin for detach

C17: from Old French destachier, from des- dis- 1 + attachier to attach

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 detachable

adj.

1818; see detach + -able.

detach

1680s, from French détacher "to detach, untie," from Old French destachier, from des- "apart" + attachier "attach" (see attach). Related: Detached; detaching.

detachable in Medicine

detach

[dĭ-tăch′]

v.

To separate or unfasten; disconnect.

To remove from association or union with something.