attack

attack
I. 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 attacking her political enemies
>
3. to begin to affect or to act on injuriously <
plants attacked 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 • attacker 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
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Attack — At*tack , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Attacked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Attacking}.] [F. attaquer, orig. another form of attacher to attack: cf. It. attacare to fasten, attack. See {Attach}, {Tack} a small nail.] 1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • attack — at·tack n: an attempt to prove something invalid or incorrect esp. through judicial procedures made an attack on the will as not properly witnessed; specif: an attempt to have the judgment of a court corrected or overruled collateral attack: an… …   Law dictionary

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  • attack — [ə tak′] vt. [Fr attaquer < It attaccare < * estaccare < Goth * stakka, stake: see STICK] 1. to use force against in order to harm; start a fight with; strike out at with physical or military force; assault 2. to speak or write against,… …   English World dictionary

  • attack — [n1] physical assault advance, aggression, assailing, assailment, barrage, blitz, blitzkrieg, charge, defilement, dirty deed*, drive, encounter, encroachment, foray, incursion, initiative, inroad, intervention, intrusion, invasion, irruption,… …   New thesaurus

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