attack

Etymology

Borrowed from French attaque, derived from the verb attaquer, from Italian attaccare (“to join, attach”) (used in attaccare battaglia (“to join battle”)), from Frankish *stakka (“stick”). Doublet of attach. Displaced native Old English on rǣsan (“to attack”) and onrǣs (“an attack”).

noun

1. An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
   From 1906 to 1960, there were forty-six recorded shark attacks, half of which were fatal. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, page 161
   One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools[…]as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. 2013-07-19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1
2. An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
   I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ? Why didn’t I telephone ? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. … 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad
   They claimed the censorship of the article was an attack on free speech.
3. A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
   The army timed their attack to coincide with the local celebrations.
4. (informal, by extension) The beginning of active operations on anything.
   Having washed the plates from dinner, I made an attack on the laundry.
5. (computing) An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
   birthday attack; denial-of-service attack
6. (cricket) Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
7. (volleyball) Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
8. (lacrosse) The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
9. (medicine) The sudden onset of a disease or condition.
   I've had an attack of the flu.
10. An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
11. (music) The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
    Eric Reed was a curious choice as pianist, since his busy Petersonian attack is the antithesis of Lewis's, but he acquitted himself with panache, […] 2004, Gary Giddins, Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century, page 322
12. (audio) The amount of time it takes for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).

verb

1. (transitive) To apply violent force to someone or something.
   This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened.
2. (transitive) To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar).
   She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts.
   In its God-like prime, The Simpsons attacked well-worn satirical fodder from unexpected angles, finding fresh laughs in the hoariest of subjects. June 3, 2012, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in The A.V. Club, Fusion Media Group
3. (transitive) To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
   Hydrofluoric acid […] attacks the glass. 1866, Balfour Stewart, An Elementary Treatise on Heat
4. (transitive) To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
   We’ll have dinner before we attack the biology homework.
   I attacked the meal with a hearty appetite.
   He filled a basin with water, and, with an old brush and piece of sandsoap, attacked the stove. 1922, Joseph Hergesheimer, Mountain Blood
5. (transitive, cricket) To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket.
6. (intransitive, cricket) To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
7. (intransitive, cricket) To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly.
8. (soccer) To move forward in an active attempt to score a point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
   Six successive defeats had left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table but, clearly under instructions to attack from the outset, Bolton started far the brighter. October 15, 2011, Michael Da Silva, “Wigan 1 - 3 Bolton”, in BBC Sport
9. (cycling) To accelerate quickly in an attempt to get ahead of the other riders.
10. (chemistry) (Of a chemical species) To approach a chemical species or bond in order to form a bond with it.

adj

1. Designed or kept for the purpose of confrontation.
   attack dog, attack ad