Adjacent Words

Attach definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ATTACH', v.t. [Gr.; L. tango, for tago, Eng. tack; etc. See attack and Tack.
1. To take by legal authority; to arrest the person by writ, to answer for a debt; applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being never used for the arrest of a criminal. It is applied also to the taking of goods and real estate by an officer, by virtue of a writ or precept, to hold the same to satisfy a judgment to be rendered in the suit.
2. To take, seize and lay hold on, by moral force, as by affection or interest; to win the heart; to fasten or bind by moral influence; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery.
3. To make to adhere; to tie, bind or fasten; as, to attach substances by any glutinous matter; to attach one thing to another by a string.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: cause to be attached [ant: detach]
2: be attached; be in contact with
3: become attached; "The spider's thread attached to the window sill" [ant: come away, come off, detach]
4: create social or emotional ties; "The grandparents want to bond with the child" [syn: bind, tie, attach, bond]
5: take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment"; "The police confiscated the stolen artwork" [syn: impound, attach, sequester, confiscate, seize]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French attacher, alteration of Old French estachier, from estache stake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English staca stake Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to take by legal authority especially under a writ <attached the property> 2. a. to bring (oneself) into an association <attached herself to their cause> b. to assign (an individual or unit in the military) temporarily 3. to bind by personal ties (as of affection or sympathy) <was strongly attached to his family> 4. to make fast (as by tying or gluing) <attach a label to a package> 5. to associate especially as a property or an attribute ; ascribe <attached great importance to public opinion polls> intransitive verb to become attached ; adhere Synonyms: see fasten • attachable adjective

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. The placement of units or personnel in an organization where such placement is relatively temporary. 2. The detailing of individuals to specific functions where such functions are secondary or relatively temporary, e.g., attached for quarters and rations; attached for flying duty. See also assign. (JP 3-0)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. fasten, affix, join. 2 tr. (in passive; foll. by to) be very fond of or devoted to (am deeply attached to her). 3 tr. attribute, assign (some function, quality, or characteristic) (can you attach a name to it?; attaches great importance to it). 4 a tr. accompany; form part of (no conditions are attached). b intr. (foll. by to) be an attribute or characteristic (great prestige attaches to the job). 5 refl. (usu. foll. by to) take part in; join (attached themselves to the expedition). 6 tr. appoint for special or temporary duties. 7 tr. Law seize (a person or property) by legal authority. Derivatives: attachable adj. attacher n. Etymology: ME f. OF estachier fasten f. Gmc: in Law sense thr. OF atachier

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Attach At*tach", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attached; p. pr. & vb. n. Attaching.] [OF. atachier, F. attacher, to tie or fasten: cf. Celt. tac, tach, nail, E. tack a small nail, tack to fasten. Cf. Attack, and see Tack.] 1. To bind, fasten, tie, or connect; to make fast or join; as, to attach one thing to another by a string, by glue, or the like. The shoulder blade is . . . attached only to the muscles. --Paley. A huge stone to which the cable was attached. --Macaulay. 2. To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship. 3. 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; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery. Incapable of attaching a sensible man. --Miss Austen. God . . . by various ties attaches man to man. --Cowper. 4. To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance. Top this treasure a curse is attached. --Bayard Taylor. 5. To take, seize, or lay hold of. [Obs.] --Shak. 6. To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment, 4. The earl marshal attached Gloucester for high treason. --Miss Yonge. Attached column (Arch.), a column engaged in a wall, so that only a part of its circumference projects from it. Syn: To affix; bind; tie; fasten; connect; conjoin; subjoin; annex; append; win; gain over; conciliate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Attach At*tach", v. i. 1. To adhere; to be attached. The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted. --Brougham. 2. To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest; as, dower will attach. --Cooley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Attach At*tach", n. An attachment. [Obs.] --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(attaches, attaching, attached) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you attach something to an object, you join it or fasten it to the object. The gadget can be attached to any vertical surface... The astronauts will attach a motor that will boost the satellite into its proper orbit... For further information, please contact us on the attached form. VERB: V n to n, V n, V-ed 2. If someone attaches himself or herself to you, they join you and stay with you, often without being invited to do so. Natasha attached herself to the film crew filming at her orphanage. VERB: V pron-refl to n 3. If people attach a quality to someone or something, or if it attaches to them, people consider that they have that quality. The authorities attached much significance to his visit. ...the magic that still attaches to the word 'spy'. ...the stigma attached to mental illness. VERB: V n to n, V to n, V-ed 4. If you attach conditions to something such as an agreement, you state that specific things must be done before the agreement is valid. Activists are pressing the banks to attach political conditions to the signing of any new agreement... VERB: V n to n 5. In computing, if you attach a file to a message that you send to someone, you send it with the message but separate from it. It is possible to attach executable program files to e-mail. VERB: V n to n 6. no strings attached: see string see also attached

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Fasten, tie, join, connect, cement, affix, fix, append, subjoin, tack, annex, hitch, make fast, set to. 2. Attract, captivate, enamour, endear, charm, win, engage, gain over. 3. (Law.) Take, seize, distrain, distress.

Moby Thesaurus

add, adhere, adjoin, affiliate, affix, agglutinate, anchor, annex, append, apply, appropriate, ascribe, assign, associate, attract, attribute, belay, bend, bind, bond, braze, burden, cement, cinch, clamp, cleave, clinch, collectivize, commandeer, communalize, communize, complicate, confiscate, conjoin, connect, cramp, decorate, distrain, encumber, endear, engraft, enlist, expropriate, fasten, fix, garnish, give, glue, glue on, graft, grapple, hitch on, impound, impress, impute, infix, join, join with, knit, lay hold of, levy, make fast, moor, nationalize, ornament, paste on, pin, place, plus, postfix, prefix, press, put, put to, put with, refer, replevin, replevy, rivet, saddle with, screw up, second, secure, seize, sequester, sequestrate, set, set to, slap on, socialize, solder, stick, subjoin, suffix, superadd, superpose, tack on, tag, tag on, tie, tighten, trice up, trim, unite, unite with, weld