attack
Americanverb (used with object)
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to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon; begin fighting with.
He attacked him with his bare hands.
- Antonyms:
- defend
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to begin hostilities against; start an offensive against.
to attack the enemy.
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to blame or abuse violently or bitterly.
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to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly.
He attacked his opponent's statement.
- Antonyms:
- defend
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to try to destroy, especially with verbal abuse.
to attack the mayor's reputation.
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to set about (a task) or go to work on (a thing) vigorously.
to attack housecleaning;
to attack the hamburger hungrily.
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(of disease, destructive agencies, etc.) to begin to affect.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of attacking; onslaught; assault.
- Antonyms:
- defense
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a military offensive against an enemy or enemy position.
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Pathology. seizure by disease or illness.
an attack of indigestion.
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the beginning or initiating of any action; onset.
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an aggressive move in a performance or contest.
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the approach or manner of approach in beginning a musical phrase.
verb
-
to launch a physical assault (against) with or without weapons; begin hostilities (with)
-
(intr) to take the initiative in a game, sport, etc
after a few minutes, the team began to attack
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(tr) to direct hostile words or writings at; criticize or abuse vehemently
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(tr) to turn one's mind or energies vigorously to (a job, problem, etc)
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(tr) to begin to injure or affect adversely; corrode, corrupt, or infect
rust attacked the metal
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(tr) to attempt to rape
noun
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the act or an instance of attacking
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strong criticism or abuse
an unjustified attack on someone's reputation
-
an offensive move in a game, sport, etc
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commencement of a task, etc
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any sudden and usually severe manifestation of a disease or disorder
a heart attack
an attack of indigestion
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ball games the players in a team whose main role is to attack the opponents' goal or territory
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music decisiveness in beginning a passage, movement, or piece
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music the speed with which a note reaches its maximum volume
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an attempted rape
Usage
What is a basic definition of attack? Attack means to attempt to inflict harm with physical violence, to attempt to inflict harm with words, or to initiate a military offensive against another. Attack has many other senses as a verb and a noun. Attack means to engage in physical violence against something with the intent to cause physical harm, damage, or death. Attacking doesn’t have to result in harm, however. For example, a person may be attacked by bees but manage to escape before actually getting stung. Someone or something that attacks is an attacker.
- Real-life examples: A lion will attack with its claws and teeth. In the past, soldiers would attack each other with swords, axes, and other weapons. A scared person may attack a lamp thinking it is a burglar.
- Used in a sentence: Ashley relentlessly attacked the piñata with a broom handle.
- Real-life examples: Politicians are often attacked by political opponents, critics, or even the media. Unfortunately, many people are often attacked by trolls and harassers on social media. Bad or unpopular ideas are often attacked for being impossible or foolish.
- Used in a sentence: The unpopular director was attacked on social media by fans of the movie franchise.
- Used in a sentence: I barely survived the alligator’s attack. The company president was outraged by the reporter’s attack on his integrity.
- Real-life examples: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1863, General Robert E. Lee attacked the Union army at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Thermopylae, almost 7,000 Greek soldiers attempted to resist the Persians’ attack.
- Used in a sentence: The United Nations was outraged by the country’s unprovoked attack of its neighbor.
Synonym Usage
Attack, assail, assault, molest all mean to set upon someone forcibly, with hostile or violent intent. Attack is the most general word and applies to a beginning of hostilities, especially those definitely planned: to attack from ambush. Assail implies vehement, sudden, and sometimes repeated attack: to assail with weapons or with gossip. Assault almost always implies bodily violence: to assault with intent to kill. To molest is to harass, to threaten, or to assault: He was safe, and where no one could molest him.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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postattackadjective
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attackingadjective
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attackernoun
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attackableadjective
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proattackadjective
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nonattackingadjective
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reattackverb
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unattackableadjective
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unattackedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has attackedperfect 3rd person singular
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have attackedperfect
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am attackingprogressive 1st person singular
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is attackingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are attackingprogressive
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has been attackingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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attackssingular 3rd person
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attackingparticiple
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have been attackingperfect progressive
Past
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had attackedperfect
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had been attackingperfect progressive
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attackedparticiple
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were attackingprogressive plural
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was attackingprogressive singular
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attackedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of attack
First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier atta(c)que, from Middle French atta(c)quer, from Italian attaccare “to attack”; cf. attach
Explanation
When you attack, you charge or advance violently. It's scary to watch a big dog attack a smaller dog. In the military, an attack is an advance of troops or the use of armed force against an enemy. When one little kid attacks another, there usually aren't any bombs or weapons involved, but the idea of force or hostility is the same. You might also attack an opponent in a game, or withstand a verbal attack from a classmate during a debate. The Italian source of attack is attacco, "an attack," from attaccare, "join battle."
Vocabulary lists containing attack
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"The Constitution"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It said the UK needed to move to "war-fighting readiness" and said billions should be spent on additional ammunition, next-generation fast jets, drones and new attack submarines.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Williams argued that Haney’s questioning was an attack on the agent’s credibility and said the sense left on the jury was that he “didn’t find any of this evidence.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
A Spotify spokeswoman said the company polices spam aggressively and has been removing content related to this attack for more than a year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
So too may be plans for new attack submarines via the Aukus partnership with the US and Australia.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Major Puff, who, after hearing the bloodcurdling scream, thought he was under attack, had pushed up against the door to block any burrow breach.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
