unattached
Americanadjective
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not attached.
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not connected or associated with any particular body, group, organization, or the like; independent.
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not engaged or married.
adjective
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not connected with any specific thing, body, group, etc; independent
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not engaged or married
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(of property) not seized or held as security or in satisfaction of a judgment
Etymology
Origin of unattached
Explanation
Unattached things are not connected or fastened. People can also be unattached, which usually means they don't have a long-term sweetheart. If you pull apart two pieces of Velcro, they're unattached. If your tent comes unattached, or disconnected, from its pole, it may collapse. If you're a freelance reporter, you work unattached to a particular paper or magazine. When we say a person is unattached we mean they are not in a committed relationship. In the animal world, unattached means "free to swim around."
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.
Nvidia is also planning to unveil new computing solutions that involve multiple CPUs that are unattached to GPUs, the way Meta plans to, the Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The real opportunity lies in attracting and retaining the next generation of top earners – young people who are unattached to place and looking for opportunities to build their careers and their lives.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2025
With a staggering 30 million more men than women, one of the world's most populous countries has a deluge of unattached males.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
Yet in public Kennedy insisted he offered a third way, unattached to the two major parties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2024
He was the only relatively unattached man most of us had ever known.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
