- 1 [intransitive, transitive, often passive] to use violence to try to hurt or kill somebody Most dogs will not attack unless provoked. attack somebody A woman was attacked and robbed by a gang of youths. attack somebody with something The man attacked him with a knife. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbbrutally, savagely, viciously, … prepositionwith See full entry See related entries: Committing crime in war
- 2 [intransitive, transitive] to use weapons, such as guns and bombs against an enemy in a war, etc. The guerrillas attack at night. attack somebody/something At dawn the army attacked the town. Wordfinderconflictaggression, arms, army, attack, casualty, conflict, defend, hostile, territory, war See related entries: Conflict criticize
- 3 [transitive] to criticize somebody/something severely attack somebody/something a newspaper article attacking the England football manager attack somebody/something for something/for doing something She has been attacked for ignoring her own party members. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbfiercely, savagely, strongly, … prepositionfor See full entry damage
- 4 [transitive] attack something to have a harmful effect on something a disease that attacks the brain The vines were attacked by mildew. do something with energy
- 5[transitive] attack something to deal with something with a lot of energy and determination Let's attack one problem at a time. in sport
- 6[intransitive] to go forward in a game in order to try to score goals or points compare defend Spain attacked more in the second half and deserved a goal. Word Originearly 17th cent.: from French attaque (noun), attaquer (verb), from Italian attacco ‘an attack’, attaccare ‘join battle’, based on an element of Germanic origin (see attach).Extra examples He attacked her with a knife. She was brutally attacked by two men. The police have been strongly attacked for not taking immediate action. Bacteria act on sugars to form acids which attack the tooth surface. He attacked the idea that the company’s practices were bad for the environment. It’s alleged that the man savagely attacked the pensioner in his home. Let’s attack one problem at a time. The disease attacks the central nervous system. The guerrillas usually attack at night. The studio audience repeatedly attacked the minister for her stance. The vines had been attacked by mildew. The virus attacks different cells in the body. They run a helpline for women who have been sexually attacked.
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BrE BrE//əˈtæk//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtæk//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they attack BrE BrE//əˈtæk//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtæk//
he / she / it attacks BrE BrE//əˈtæks//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtæks//
past simple attacked BrE BrE//əˈtækt//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtækt//
past participle attacked BrE BrE//əˈtækt//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtækt//
-ing form attacking BrE BrE//əˈtækɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//əˈtækɪŋ//
Committing crime, ConflictCheck pronunciation: attack
