attach

[ uh-tach ]

/ əˈtætʃ /

verb (used with object)

to fasten or affix; join; connect: to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.

to join in action or function; make part of: to attach oneself to a group.

Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.

to include as a quality or condition of something: One proviso is attached to this legacy.

to assign or attribute: to attach significance to a gesture.

to bind by ties of affection or regard: You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.

Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.

Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.

verb (used without object)

to adhere; pertain; belong (usually followed by to or upon): No blame attaches to him.

Nearby words

Origin of attach

1300–50; Middle English atachen < Anglo-French atacher to seize, Old French atachier to fasten, alteration of estachier to fasten with or to a stake, equivalent to estach(e) (< Germanic *stakka stake¹) + -ier infinitive suffix

SYNONYMS FOR attach

1. subjoin, append, add, annex.

ANTONYMS FOR attach

1. detach.

Related forms

at·tach·a·ble, adjectiveat·tach·er, nounre·at·tach, verbre·at·tach·a·ble, adjective

un·at·tach·a·ble, adjective

Can be confusedattach attaché

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

Examples from the Web for reattach

Based on my own reattach I had no choice but to agree with these conservative claims.
David's Book Club: The Righteous Mind|Noah Kristula-Green|April 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Officials said they believed Wood slipped off the yacht when she went on deck to reattach a dinghy that came loose.
L.A. Sheriff Reopens Natalie Wood Drowning Probe, Citing New Information|Christine Pelisek|November 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for reattach

attach

/ (əˈtætʃ) /

verb (mainly tr)

to join, fasten, or connect

(reflexive or passive) to become associated with or join, as in a business or other venturehe attached himself to the expedition

(intr foll by to) to be inherent (in) or connected (with)responsibility attaches to the job

to attribute or ascribeto attach importance to an event

to include or append, esp as a conditiona proviso is attached to the contract

(usually passive) military to place on temporary duty with another unit

(usually passive) to put (a member of an organization) to work in a different unit or agency, either with an expectation of reverting to, or while retaining some part of, the original working arrangement

to appoint officially

law to arrest or take (a person, property, etc) with lawful authority

obsolete to seize

Derived Formsattachable, adjectiveattacher, noun

Word Origin for attach

C14: from Old French atachier to fasten, changed from estachier to fasten with a stake, from estache stake 1

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 reattach

reattach

also re-attach, c.1600 in law; 1813 in a literal sense, from re- + attach. Related: Reattached; reattaching.

attach

mid-14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from Old French atachier (11c.), earlier estachier "to attach, fix; stake up, support" (Modern French attacher, also cf. Italian attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frankish *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Germanic word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is from c.1400. Related: Attached; attaching.

Idioms and Phrases with reattach

attach

see no strings attached.