What does "attack" mean?
An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
Attack
/əˈtæk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
- Grammar: attack is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aggress, assail, assault, onslaught.
- Useful contrasts: entrenched, supporting evidence, forcefully defended position.
- Usage evidence: Wolves won't usually attack people.
How to use "attack"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "attack" 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 "attack" 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 "attack" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "attack" 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 "attack" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang 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 "aggress" 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 "attack", 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
Noun
- 1 An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
"From 1906 to 1960, there were forty-six recorded shark attacks, half of which were fatal."
- 2 a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase wordnet
- 3 An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.; Any of several specific maneuvers, skills, or special abilities that a character can use to inflict damage against opponents.
"Combat in Mimesis Online is nice and simple. You click on your target […] and then keep right-clicking your chosen attack from the drop down menu. Every time you right click on the attack, your character will swing, shoot, etc."
- 4 an offensive move in a sport or game wordnet
- 5 An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
"“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ? Why didn’t I telephone ? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”"
Show 19 more definitions
- 6 the act of attacking wordnet
- 7 A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
"The army timed their attack to coincide with the local celebrations."
- 8 ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation wordnet
- 9 The beginning of active operations on anything. broadly, informal
"Having washed the plates from dinner, I made an attack on the laundry."
- 10 (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons) wordnet
- 11 An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
"birthday attack; denial-of-service attack"
- 12 strong criticism wordnet
- 13 Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
- 14 intense adverse criticism wordnet
- 15 Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
- 16 the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent) wordnet
- 17 The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
- 18 a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition wordnet
- 19 The sudden onset of a disease or condition.
"I've had an attack of the flu."
- 20 An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
- 21 The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
"Eric Reed was a curious choice as pianist, since his busy Petersonian attack is the antithesis of Lewis's, but he acquitted himself with panache, […]"
- 22 The amount of time taken for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).
- 23 The initial sensory impact of a wine.
- 24 Short for heart attack. India, South, abbreviation, alt-of
Verb
- 1 To apply violent force to someone or something. transitive
"This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened."
- 2 begin to injure wordnet
- 3 To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar). transitive
"She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts."
- 4 set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task wordnet
- 5 To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste. transitive
"On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 attack in speech or writing wordnet
- 7 To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon. transitive
"We’ll have dinner before we attack the biology homework."
- 8 take the initiative and go on the offensive wordnet
- 9 To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket. transitive
- 10 launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with wordnet
- 11 To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets. intransitive
- 12 attack someone physically or emotionally wordnet
- 13 To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly. intransitive
- 14 To move forward in an active attempt to score a point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
"Six successive defeats had left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table but, clearly under instructions to attack from the outset, Bolton started far the brighter."
- 15 To accelerate quickly in an attempt to get ahead of the other riders.
- 16 (Of a chemical species) To approach a chemical species or bond in order to form a bond with it. physical
Adjective
- 1 Designed or kept for the purpose of confrontation. not-comparable
"attack dog, attack ad"
Antonyms
Example
"Wolves won't usually attack people."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "attack"?
Common synonyms include: aggress, assail, assault, onslaught, abdominal epilepsy, abuse.
How do you use "attack" in a sentence?
Wolves won't usually attack people.
How do you pronounce "attack"?
Pronounced /əˈtæk/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French attaque, derived from the verb attaquer, from Italian attaccare (“to join, attach”) (used in attaccare battaglia (“to join battle”)), from Frankish *stakkijan (“to stick, stick to, attach”). Doublet of attach. Displaced native Middle English onresen, from Old English onrǣsan (“to attack”); and Middle English resinge (“an assault, attack”) (compare Old English onrǣs (“an attack”)).