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.
to begin hostilities against; start an offensive against:to attack the enemy.
to blame or abuse violently or bitterly.
to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly:He attacked his opponent's statement.
to try to destroy, esp. with verbal abuse:to attack the mayor's reputation.
to set about (a task) or go to work on (a thing) vigorously:to attack housecleaning; to attack the hamburger hungrily.
(of disease, destructive agencies, etc.) to begin to affect.
v.i.
to make an attack; begin hostilities.
n.
the act of attacking; onslaught; assault.
a military offensive against an enemy or enemy position.
[Pathol.]seizure by disease or illness:an attack of indigestion.
the beginning or initiating of any action; onset.
an aggressive move in a performance or contest.
Musicthe approach or manner of approach in beginning a musical phrase.
Italian attaccare to attack, attach
Middle French atta(c)quer
earlier atta(c)que 1590–1600
at•tack′a•ble, adj. at•tack′er, n.
1. storm, charge. 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, esp. 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.4. censure; impugn, oppugn, abuse. 9. onset, encounter.
to launch a physical assault (against) with or without weapons; begin hostilities (with)
(intransitive) to take the initiative in a game, sport, etc
(transitive) to direct hostile words or writings at; criticize or abuse vehemently
(transitive) to turn one's mind or energies vigorously to (a job, problem, etc)
(transitive) to begin to injure or affect adversely; corrode, corrupt, or infect: rust attacked the metal
n
the act or an instance of attacking
strong criticism or abuse
an offensive move in a game, sport, etc
commencement of a task, etc
any sudden and usually severe manifestation of a disease or disorder
the attack ⇒ the players in a team whose main role is to attack the opponents' goal or territory
decisiveness in beginning a passage, movement, or piece
the speed with which a note reaches its maximum volume
Etymology: 16th Century: from French attaquer, from Old Italian attaccare to attack, attach, from estaccare to attach, from staccastake1; compare attachatˈtackernatˈtackingadj
'air attack' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):