What does "attach" mean?
To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
Attach
/əˈtæt͡ʃ/ verb
verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
- Grammar: attach is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accompanies, add, added, adhere.
- Useful contrasts: detached, disconnected, disconnected regions.
- Usage evidence: It is important that you attach your photo to the application form.
How to use "attach"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "attach" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "attach" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "attach" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "attach" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "attach" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accompanies" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "attach", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively). transitive
"You need to attach the carabiner to your harness."
- 2 be attached; be in contact with wordnet
- 3 To adhere; to be attached. intransitive
"The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted."
- 4 become attached wordnet
- 5 To include an attachment with a communication (especially an email or other electronic communication).
"I've attached the contract to this email."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 cause to be attached wordnet
- 7 To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest.
"Dower will attach."
- 8 take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority wordnet
- 9 To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; with to.
"attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery"
- 10 create social or emotional ties wordnet
- 11 To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; with to.
"to attach great importance to a particular circumstance"
- 12 To take, seize, or lay hold of. obsolete
"Then homeward every man attach the hand / Of his fair mistress."
- 13 To arrest, seize. obsolete
"Eftsoones the Gard, which on his state did wait, / Attacht that faitor false, and bound him strait […]"
Antonyms
Example
"It is important that you attach your photo to the application form."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "attach"?
Common synonyms include: accompanies, add, added, adhere, adhered, adheres.
How do you use "attach" in a sentence?
It is important that you attach your photo to the application form.
How do you pronounce "attach"?
Pronounced /əˈtæt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
From Middle English attachen, from Old French atachier, variant of estachier (“bind”), derived from estache (“stick”), from Frankish *stakkā, *stakō (“stick”), from Proto-Germanic *stakô (“pole, bar, stick, stake”). Doublet of attack. More at stake, stack.