I. ə-ˈtak verb
Etymology: Middle French attaquer, from Old Italian * estaccare to attach, from stacca stake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English staca
Date: 1562
transitive verb
1. : to set upon or work against forcefully
2. : to assail with unfriendly or bitter words
a speech attack ing her political enemies
3. : to begin to affect or to act on injuriously
plants attack ed by aphids
4. : to set to work on
attack a problem
5. : to threaten (a piece in chess) with immediate capture
intransitive verb
: to make an attack
• at·tack·er noun
Synonyms:
attack , assail , assault , bombard , storm mean to make an onslaught upon. attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle
plan to attack the town at dawn
assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots
assailed the enemy with artillery fire
assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught
commandos assaulted the building from all sides
bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells
bombarded the city nightly
storm implies attempting to break into a defended position
preparing to storm the fortress
II. noun
Date: 1655
1. : the act of attacking with physical force or unfriendly words : assault
2. : a belligerent or antagonistic action
3.
a. : a fit of sickness ; especially : an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease
b. : a period of being strongly affected by something (as a desire or mood)
4.
a. : an offensive or scoring action
won the game with an 8-hit attack
b. : offensive players or the positions taken up by them
5. : the setting to work on some undertaking
made a new attack on the problem
6. : the beginning of destructive action (as by a chemical agent)
7. : the act or manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
III. adjective
Date: 1899
: designed, planned, or used for carrying out a military attack
an attack helicopter