attacked; attacking; attacks
1
: to set upon or work against forcefully
attack an enemy fortification
2
: to assail with unfriendly or bitter words
a politician verbally attacked by critics
3
: to begin to affect or to act on injuriously
plants attacked by aphids
4
a
: to set to work on
attack a problem
b
: to begin to eat (food) eagerly
At the table he attacked his meal with such singleminded ferocity as to be, as Boswell put it, disgusting to those whose sensations were delicate.—Donald R. DeGlopper
5
chess
: to threaten (a piece) with immediate capture
: to make an attack
They were unprepared when the enemy attacked.
attacker
noun
plural attackers
plural attacks
1
2
: a belligerent or antagonistic action
launched an attack against his political opponents
3
a
: a fit of sickness
especially
: an active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease
an attack of bronchitis
b
: a period of being strongly affected by something (such as a desire or mood)
an attack of the jitters
c
: an aggressive attempt to take or extend a lead over others in a race (such as a bicycle race)
… he crushed his rivals in the first mountain stages by going on relatively long solo attacks.—Samuel Abt
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
a new plan of attack
6
: the beginning of destructive action (as by a chemical agent)
7
music
: the act or manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
1
: designed, planned, or used for carrying out a military attack
an attack helicopter
2
: expressing or involving aggressively negative and harsh criticism of someone (such as a political opponent)
attack ads
Early in my magazine career, I at times participated in a form of attack journalism that today fills me with remorse—picking a target and sending out a reporter to bring back the scalp.—Daniel Okrent
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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