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

Rafeeq Abu Alia, who was one of the family members in the house that day, told me the attack had followed a familiar pattern.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Unlike bees or wasps, which sting as a defence mechanism to protect themselves, a jellyfish sting is an automatic reflex, not a deliberate attack.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

All of the Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted, the U.S. military said, without saying where the attack was targeted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“Florio can attack me all he wants. He’s trolling, which he does sometimes,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

“He forgot about the attack from the north outer wall of the Alamo complex,” came a voice I knew all too well.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

The US military said this was "a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours", using an acronym for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Prices topped $100 last week after the Houthi attacks.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

More and more issues — upset tummies, heart murmurs, pancreatitis attacks — crept in with every passing year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Striking in these two apparently unrelated episodes is one word in particular — accuracy — and important lessons museums and historians can learn to combat these attacks on the integrity of historical research.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Now the attacks on Bliss and the other doctors grew louder.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

More immune cells entered the tumors, where they attacked and destroyed cancer cells.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

But Mr. Devine writes about these establishment shenanigans as though he was surprised that a candidate who attacked the establishment would invite a defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

They then attacked Hugging Face to get access to the information to help them ace their exam.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

They’re aware that some of those who have gone to the press have been attacked on social media, with many a non-Toluca Lake resident appearing unsympathetic to their cause, comparing them to not-in-my-backyard complainers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

The sabotage targets had been carefully selected to pinpoint areas that, when attacked, would create bottlenecks in the American war industry.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Given the attacking talent at his disposal, it stands to reason that Zidane would carry on in that vein.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

In 2019, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking Abqaiq, a strike that cut the kingdom’s oil production in half.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Of course, the hazard of Pogacar’s attacking is that he can drag along a strong nemesis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Defending as a 4-4-2 before attacking in the 3-2-2-3, it was Stones who stepped up from centre-back into a midfield pair with Rodri during City's Treble-winning season, when Maresca was assistant manager.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

"And I think, perhaps," said Shasta, "someone ought to be told that there's an army of savage Calormenes attacking Anvard at this very moment."

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Related Words

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