attack meaning

Verb: attack  u'tak

1. Launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with
   "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"
   - assail 
2. Attack in speech or writing
   "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"
   - round, assail, lash out, snipe, assault 
3. Take the initiative and go on the offensive
   "The Serbs attacked the village at night"; "The visiting team started to attack"
   - aggress 
4. Attack someone physically or emotionally
   - assail, assault, set on 
5. Set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task
   "I attacked the problem as soon as I got out of bed" 
6. Begin to injure
   "The cancer cells are attacking his liver"; "Rust is attacking the metal"

Noun: attack  u'tak

1. (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
   "the attack began at dawn"
   - onslaught, onset, onrush 
2. An offensive move in a sport or game
   "they won the game with a 10-hit attack in the 9th inning" 
3. Intense adverse criticism
   "the government has come under attack"
   - fire, flak, flack, blast 
4. Ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation
   "an attack on inflation"; "his plan of attack was misguided"
   - approach, plan of attack 
5. The act of attacking
   "attacks on women increased last year"
   - attempt 
6. A decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
   - tone-beginning 
7. A sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition
   "an attack of diarrhoea" 
8. The onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent)
   "the film was sensitive to attack by acids"; "open to attack by the elements" 
9. Strong criticism
   "he published an unexpected attack on my work"

Derived forms: attacked, attacks, attacking

See also: attacker

Type of: act, affect, affliction, begin, beginning, commence, commencement, conceptualisation [Brit], conceptualization, contend, crime, criminal offence [Brit, Cdn], criminal offense [US], criticise [Brit], criticism, criticize, degeneration, devolution, fight, formulation, get, get down, knock, law-breaking, military operation, move, offence [Brit, Cdn], offense [US], op, operation, pick apart, play, set about, set out, start, start out, struggle, turn, unfavorable judgment [US], unfavourable judgment [Brit, Cdn]

Antonym: defend

Encyclopedia: Attack Attack, attack, skip, attack, attack offense Attack, attack, skip, attack, attack

[Electronics]
1. The rise of a pulse from zero to maximum amplitude.
2. The time required for a pulse to rise from zero to maximum amplitude.
3. The initialization of a circuit voltage or current for a certain purpose, such as an automatic gain control.
4. The rise of a musical note from zero to full volume.


attenuate To reduce in amplitude.

[Medicine]
n : a fit of sickness; esp : an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease
vt : to begin to affect or to act on injuriously ‹tumors attacked the kidneys› ‹attacked by a fever›

Examples

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1. our troops recoiled before the attack.
2. the surprise attack dismayed the enemy.
3. they were alarmed by a sudden air attack.
4. can the town be secured against attack?
5. i think this woman 's had a heart attack.