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:
Marriott said they also found people would "emotionally detach themselves" from images once they discovered they had been generated by AI.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
This allowed the droplets to detach more easily, often before they had time to grow very large.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
But even if you detach Reddit entirely from the LLM conversation, it’s still a growing platform that users truly love, and one I believe leaders should pay more attention to.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
While he admits it will be practically impossible to completely detach himself from soccer, he said there are important things to accomplish off the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
They managed to detach an inflatable lifeboat before their ship sank, and were crawling into it when the Germans returned.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
By losing control, they exposed how fragile authorship becomes once ownership detaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
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
When, for example, a leaf detaches from a tree and falls to the ground, it begins to break down immediately.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
As the soil dries, the thistle dies and detaches from the root.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
I watch as he locks his helmet on the back of his bike, then detaches a camera bag from the handlebars.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
"It just seems that the billing is completely detached from reality."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The band’s joyful energy was more suitable for bopping than brooding, and Mr. Casablancas’s detached and distorted delivery is distant from grunge’s anguished growls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
As an adult, a laser focus on her career and the demands of her family life became a way to stay detached from herself—a strategy that received consistent positive reinforcement.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Elsewhere on the grounds is a separate gym overlooking the swimming pool, as well as a detached guesthouse that can double as an office or creative space.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
He laughed, looking quite different, younger somehow and less detached.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
It is thought to be the result of peat bogs detaching from the bottom of the lake and floating to the surface.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
The ant reacts aggressively, biting the cone and accidentally detaching it from the anchor point.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Weiss is of the opinion that CBS is on the cusp of unlocking a new golden age of journalism, and that this is achievable only by detaching the network from party lines.
From Slate ● Jan. 6, 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
And with that, the stranger realized that he was being drawn, like it or not, into the conversation and, reluctantly, he stepped out of the shadows, detaching from them like a patch of darkness.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
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.
