Library / English Dictionary

ATTACH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be attached; be in contact with

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "attach" is one way to...):

adjoin; contact; meet; touch (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attach"):

leech onto (admire boundlessly and follow around)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Also:

attach to (be part of)

Derivation:

attachable (capable of being fastened or added to something else)

attachment (a connection that fastens things together)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become attached

Example:

The spider's thread attached to the window sill

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "attach" is one way to...):

conjoin; join (make contact or come together)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attach"):

agglutinate (string together (morphemes in an agglutinating language))

implant (become attached to and embedded in the uterus)

fasten (become fixed or fastened)

adhere; bind; bond; hold fast; stick; stick to (stick to firmly)

spat (become permanently attached)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s to somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

detach (come to be detached)

Also:

attach to (be present or associated with an event or entity)

Derivation:

attachable (capable of being fastened or added to something else)

attachment (a connection that fastens things together)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to be attached

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "attach" is one way to...):

connect; link; link up; tie (connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces)

Cause:

attach (become attached)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attach"):

peg; peg down (fasten or secure with a wooden pin)

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

mount (attach to a support)

affix; stick on (attach to)

nail (attach something somewhere by means of nails)

hook up (connect or link)

clip (attach with a clip)

enter; infix; insert; introduce (put or introduce into something)

yoke (put a yoke on or join with a yoke)

harness; tackle (put a harness)

link; yoke (link with or as with a yoke)

saddle (put a saddle on)

label; mark; tag (attach a tag or label to)

limber; limber up (attach the limber)

fix; fixate (make fixed, stable or stationary)

tether (tie with a tether)

fasten (attach to)

hinge (attach with a hinge)

bell (attach a bell to)

band; ring (attach a ring to the foot of, in order to identify)

couple; couple on; couple up (link together)

affix (attach or become attached to a stem word)

bind (make fast; tie or secure, with or as if with a rope)

catch; hitch (to hook or entangle)

append; hang on; tack; tack on; tag on (fix to; attach)

add on; affix; append; supplement (add to the very end)

tape (fasten or attach with tape)

glue; paste (join or attach with or as if with glue)

pin down; pin up (attach with or as if with a pin)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

detach (cause to become detached or separated; take off)

Derivation:

attachable (capable of being fastened or added to something else)

attachment (the act of fastening things together)

attachment (the act of attaching or affixing something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority

Example:

The police confiscated the stolen artwork

Synonyms:

attach; confiscate; impound; seize; sequester

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "attach" is one way to...):

take (take into one's possession)

Verb group:

sequester (requisition forcibly, as of enemy property)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attach"):

condemn (appropriate (property) for public use)

garnish; garnishee (take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support)

distrain (confiscate by distress)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

attachment (a writ authorizing the seizure of property that may be needed for the payment of a judgment in a judicial proceeding)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Create social or emotional ties

Example:

The grandparents want to bond with the child

Synonyms:

attach; bind; bond; tie

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "attach" is one way to...):

relate (have or establish a relationship to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "attach"):

fixate (attach (oneself) to a person or thing in a neurotic way)

befriend (become friends with)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

attachment (faithful support for a cause or political party or religion)

attachment (a feeling of affection for a person or an institution)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He was my godfather, and excessively attached to me.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Skeletal muscles are attached to our bones and enable our bodies to move.

(Researchers Discovered Proteins Essential to Development of Skeletal Muscle, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The insides of our homes can contain small molecules like chloroform or benzene a component of gasoline through simple actions like showering, boiling water, or storing cars on lawnmowers in attached garages.

(Common Houseplant with Genetic Modification Can Remove Polluted Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Again the rope was attached and he was launched, and again he struck out, but this time straight into the stream.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The end of the intestine is attached to an opening in the surface of the abdomen and body waste is collected in a disposable bag outside of the body.

(Abdominoperineal resection, NCI Dictionary)

MILs are harvested from autologous bone marrow from multiple myeloma patients and, in vitro, are exposed to and activated by anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies covalently attached to super-paramagnetic microbeads.

(Activated Marrow Infiltrating Lymphocytes, NCI Thesaurus)

You must have become in some degree attached to the house,—you, who have an eye for natural beauties, and a good deal of the organ of Adhesiveness?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A major stabilizing ligament in the knee that attaches the surfaces of the femur and tibia.

(Anterior Cruciate Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)

The placenta surface in which the amniotic membrane is attached to.

(Amniotic Surface of the Placenta, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon intravenous administration, the anti-mesothelin CIR mRNA-electroporated autologous T cells may attach to cancer cells expressing mesothelin.

(Anti-mesothelin CIR mRNA-electroporated Autologous T Cells, NCI Thesaurus)