attack

I. verb Etymology: Middle French attaquer, from Old Italian *estaccare to attach, from stacca stake, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English staca Date: 1562 transitive verb 1. to set upon or work against forcefully 2. to assail with unfriendly or bitter words <

a speech attacking her political enemies

> 3. to begin to affect or to act on injuriously <

plants attacked by aphids

> 4. to set to work on <

attack a problem

> 5. to threaten (a piece in chess) with immediate capture intransitive verb to make an attack • attacker noun Synonyms: attack, assail, assault, bombard, storm mean to make an onslaught upon. attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle <

plan to attack the town at dawn

>. assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots <

assailed the enemy with artillery fire

>. assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught <

commandos assaulted the building from all sides

>. bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells <

bombarded the city nightly

>. storm implies attempting to break into a defended position <

preparing to storm the fortress

>. II. noun Date: 1655 1. the act of attacking with physical force or unfriendly words ; assault 2. a belligerent or antagonistic action 3. a. a fit of sickness; especially an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease b. a period of being strongly affected by something (as a desire or mood) 4. a. an offensive or scoring action <

won the game with an 8-hit attack

> b. offensive players or the positions taken up by them 5. the setting to work on some undertaking <

made a new attack on the problem

> 6. the beginning of destructive action (as by a chemical agent) 7. the act or manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase III. adjective Date: 1899 designed, planned, or used for carrying out a military attack <

an attack helicopter

>