attack

1 of 3

verb

at·​tack ə-ˈtak 

attacked; attacking; attacks

transitive verb

1

: to set upon or work against forcefully

attack an enemy fortification

2

: to assail with unfriendly or bitter words

a politician verbally attacked by critics

3

: to begin to affect or to act on injuriously

plants attacked by aphids

4

a

: to set to work on

attack a problem

b

: to begin to eat (food) eagerly

At the table he attacked his meal with such singleminded ferocity as to be, as Boswell put it, disgusting to those whose sensations were delicate.

—Donald R. DeGlopper

5

chess : to threaten (a piece) with immediate capture

intransitive verb

: to make an attack

They were unprepared when the enemy attacked.

attacker noun

plural attackers

attack

2 of 3

noun

plural attacks

1

: the act of attacking with physical force or unfriendly words : assault

the victim of a knife attack

a verbal attack

2

: a belligerent or antagonistic action

launched an attack against his political opponents

3

a

: a fit of sickness

especially : an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease

an attack of bronchitis

b

: a period of being strongly affected by something (such as a desire or mood)

an attack of the jitters

c

: an aggressive attempt to take or extend a lead over others in a race (such as a bicycle race)

… he crushed his rivals in the first mountain stages by going on relatively long solo attacks.

—Samuel Abt

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

a new plan of attack

6

: the beginning of destructive action (as by a chemical agent)

7

music : the act or manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase

attack

3 of 3

adjective

1

: designed, planned, or used for carrying out a military attack

an attack helicopter

2

: expressing or involving aggressively negative and harsh criticism of someone (such as a political opponent)

attack ads

Early in my magazine career, I at times participated in a form of attack journalism that today fills me with remorse—picking a target and sending out a reporter to bring back the scalp.

—Daniel Okrent

Phrases

on the attack

: making an attack

The soldiers were on the attack.

—often used in the phrase go on the attack with the meaning "to begin attacking"

Last week he challenged Bradley to debate him and went on the attack, accusing his challenger of "disloyalty" to the party …

—Matt Bai

under attack

: in the process of being attacked

soldiers under attack

a politician who is under attack from his opponents

—often used in the phrase come under attack with the meaning "to begin being attacked"

a theory that has recent come under attack

Synonyms

Verb

• assail
• assault
• beset
• bushwhack
• charge
• descend (on or upon)
• go in (on)
• jump (on)
• pounce (on or upon)
• raid
• rush
• set on
• sic
• sick
• storm
• strike
• trash
• turn (on)

Noun

• aggression
• assault
• attempt
• blitz
• blitzkrieg
• charge
• coup de main
• descent
• offense
• offence
• offensive
• onset
• onslaught
• raid
• rush
• strike

Choose the Right Synonym for attack

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

Examples of attack in a Sentence

Verb

He attacked the guard with a knife.

Troops attacked the fortress at dawn.

The troops attacked at dawn.

People are attacking the mayor for breaking campaign promises.

The professor has been widely attacked for her position on the issue.

Did you see the way the kids attacked that pizza?

Noun

The immune system is the body's defense against attack by germs.

The spray protects plants from attacks by many common pests.

The surprise attack came at dawn.

There is a threat of nuclear attack.

There have been many attacks against the professor for her position on the issue.

The newspaper editorial is an attack on policy-makers.

Adjective

The bombers were in attack formation.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

After Rufo publicized my comments, the number of responses attacking my masculinity really jumped out. —Emma Green, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2024

An elderly Jewish man walking to services with his wife in Beverly Hills is attacked and beaten with a belt. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2024

Indeed, LeMay’s forces modeled their firestorm on the one caused by the 1923 Kanto earthquake, and in the testimony of survivors the conflagration takes on a life of its own, a ferocious beast attacking from all sides. —Robert Rubsam, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024

However, before the timer on his cake buzzes, he is attacked by assassins. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 4 Jan. 2024

Soon after, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians, the Houthi rebels attacked cargo ships in the Red Sea. —Jay Caruso, Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2024

Now, Ukraine has successfully managed to attack supply routes as far as the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia, and Belgorod within Russia proper. —Justin Ling, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2024

Some professors also were furious that Gay’s credentials had been attacked by critics who suggested she was only hired to provide racial diversity, despite her experience, including successfully leading the university’s faculty of arts and sciences through the pandemic. —Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Washington Post, 4 Jan. 2024

Relentlessly attacking the basket, Mack finished with a career-high 27 points and Andrews added 20. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023

Noun

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. —The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2024

Stock traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, a study found. —Shane Harris, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2024

The Goons recorded several attacks, including those that left teenagers hospitalized and traumatized. —The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2024

Saturday's vote was taken on the three-year anniversary of the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol in which Trump supporters attempted to stop the official count of the nation's election results showing Biden the winner. —Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 6 Jan. 2024

The rocket attack came a day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group must retaliate for the killing of Saleh Arouri, the deputy political leader of the militia's ally Hamas, in a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut. —Bassem Mroue, Samy Magdy, and Najib Jobain, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2024

Half of Republicans strongly disapproved just after the attack, and now just a third do. —Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2024

Years after the attack, a family member of Mark Thompson Hunter took a DNA test and uploaded the results to a publicly accessible site — one that law enforcement authorities are expressly allowed to access. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024

Then came Gaza: and a series of attacks by Houthi militants on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, bottling up traffic around the Suez Canal. —Megha Mandavia, WSJ, 5 Jan. 2024

Adjective

How common is the multi-attack ransomware threat? —Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2022

Among its findings are that most attackers exhibit indicators of pre-attack behavior. —Brooke Baitinger, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2022

Many of the reactionary shifts in public opinion after 9/11 have reverted to pre-attack levels, according to fresh analysis by Pew Research Center. —Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Sep. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

Verb, Noun, and Adjective

Middle French attaquer, from Old Italian *estaccare to attach, from stacca stake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English staca

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1576, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing attack

• angle of attack
• attack dog
• anxiety attack
• nearly gave someone a heart attack
• go on the attack
• to come under attack
• panic attack
• banzai attack
• brain attack
• counter-attack
• heart attack
• plan of attack
• transient ischemic attack
• in attack
• on the attack
• come under attack
• under attack

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• angle of attack
• attack dog
• anxiety attack
• nearly gave someone a heart attack
• go on the attack
• to come under attack
• panic attack
• banzai attack
• brain attack
• counter-attack
• heart attack
• plan of attack
• transient ischemic attack
• in attack
• on the attack
• come under attack
• under attack

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Kids Definition

attack

1 of 2 verb

at·​tack ə-ˈtak 

1

: to take strong action against

the dog attacked a skunk

2

: to use unfriendly or bitter words against

3

: to begin to cause something harmful or destructive to happen to

attacked by fever

4

: to start work on

attack a problem

attacker noun

attack

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or action of attacking : assault

2

: a beginning of work on something (as a problem or project)

3

: a spell of sickness

especially : one of a disease that is long-lasting or that tends to occur over and over again

Medical Definition

attack

1 of 2 transitive verb

at·​tack ə-ˈtak 

: to begin to affect or to act on injuriously

tumors attacked the kidneys

attacked by a fever

attack

2 of 2 noun

: a fit of sickness

especially : an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease

Legal Definition

attack

noun

at·​tack

: an attempt to prove something invalid or incorrect especially through judicial procedures

made an attack on the will as not properly witnessed

specifically : an attempt to have the judgment of a court corrected or overruled

— collateral attack

: an attack on a judgment made during or by a proceeding brought for a different purpose see also habeas corpus ad subjiciendum at habeas corpus

— direct attack

: an attack on a judgment made in a proceeding (as an appeal) brought for the specific purpose of having the judgment corrected or overturned

attack verb