α. 1600s ataque, 1600s attaque, 1600s–1700s attacque, 1600s– attack.
β. regional 1700s atakt (North American), 1700s (North American) 1800s (U.S.) attact, 1700s (North American) 1800s– (U.S.) attackt.
attackn.
/əˈtak/, U.S. /əˈtæk/ I. Senses relating to offensive military action or physical assault.† 1. A base for launching an offensive military action; an attacking force. Obsolete.
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society > armed hostility > attack > [noun] > point of attack
attack1646
schwerpunkt1952
society > armed hostility > attack > [noun] > starting place of attack
attack1646
start line1908
1646 Moderate Intelligencer No. 77. 619 Thereupon were eight pieces of battery planted upon each Attaque, which shot off against the place.
1709 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) VI. 460 All the cannon..will begin to play as to morrow from the 3 several attacks.
2. An aggressive military action against a place, or enemy forces, equipment, etc., with weapons or armed forces; a joining of battle; an offensive operation; a military assault. Also: the action of making of such an assault.air attack, gas attack, ground attack, missile attack, night attack, rocket attack, surprise attack, etc.: see the first element.
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society > armed hostility > attack > [noun]
fiend-reseOE
frumresec1275
assault1297
sault1297
inracea1300
sailing13..
venuea1330
checkc1330
braid1340
affrayc1380
outrunningc1384
resinga1387
wara1387
riota1393
assailc1400
assayc1400
onset1423
rake?a1425
pursuitc1425
assemblinga1450
brunta1450
oncominga1450
assembly1487
envaya1500
oncomea1500
shovea1500
front1523
scry1523
attemptate1524
assaulting1548
push1565
brash1573
attempt1584
affront?1587
pulse1587
affret1590
saliaunce1590
invasion1591
assailment1592
insultation1596
aggressa1611
onslaught1613
source1616
confronta1626
impulsion1631
tentative1632
essaya1641
infall1645
attack1655
stroke1698
insult1710
coup de main1759
onfall1837
hurrah1841
beat-up of quarters1870
offensive1887
strafe1915
grand slam1916
hop-over1918
run1941
strike1942
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > [noun]
assault1297
venuea1330
scoura1400
wassailc1400
frayc1430
brunta1450
sault1510
onseta1522
attemptate1524
onsetting1541
breach1578
dint1579
objectiona1586
invasion1591
extent1594
grassation1610
attack1655
run1751
wrack1863
mayhem1870
serve1967
1655 W. Sales Theophania vi. 157 Lysimacus having so small a force, must of necessity have submitted to the licentious will of an incensed rabble; but having encouraged them to a second attaque, the pursuers began quickly to retire.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 248 The dire attack Of fighting Seraphim. View more context for this quotation
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 63 And bravely scorn to turn their Backs Upon the desperat'st Attacks.
1693 tr. J. Le Clerc Mem. Count Teckely i. 41 The Grand Vizier endeavoured to maintain the Attacques.
1703 London Gaz. No. 3913/2 The Enemy..made a Salley out of the Town against Major General Dedem's Attack.
1757 Genuine Tryal Admiral Byng 126 The Signal for the Attack was given by a Cannon Shot and four Bombs fired from the Signal Tower.
1780 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. (1789) xiii. §2 To compare the means of attack and defence.
1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Representative Men vi. 232 His very attack was never the inspiration of courage, but the result of calculation.
1891 Times 21 Aug. 8/4 Beyond ‘blooding’ the young troops, nothing was gained by these attacks.
1916 Cassier's Engin. Monthly 50 180/2 The danger of attacks by submarines which lie in wait on the route to and from the coaling base.
1942 R. Hillary Last Enemy 132 Arse-end Charlie..weaves backwards and forwards above and behind the Squadron to protect them from attack from the rear.
1978 P. Adam-Smith Anzacs 94 Private W.S. Percival of the 15th Battalion told of 7 August, after the futile but desperate attack on Hill 971.
2013 Navy News Nov. 2/3 It..tested the ability of the Response Force Task Group as it underwent simulated air raids and water-borne attack from small fast in-shore craft.
3. An act of physical aggression against another; a violent attempt to cause death, injury, or (in later use) damage to property, a building, etc.; an assault. Also: the action of making such an assault.Originally only with reference to animals.
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1700 C. Leigh Nat. Hist. Lancs. vii. 131 They [sc. seals] are extreamly smooth, and will bite severely, having Mouths like those of Tygers, and indeed when provoked, make their Attacks with that kind of spitting, harring Noise.
1728 J. Byrom Full Acct. Robbery Epping-Forest 3 With untry'd Courage bravely we repell'd, The rude Attacks of Dogs—not yet beheld.
1800 W. Hunter in Asiatick Researches 6 22 His activity and courage, in the attack of the boar..and of the tyger.
1828 Gentleman's Mag. July 83/1 Lord Mount Sandford..innocently became the victim of an attack from a man named Brinckley, who knocked him down, and afterwards most brutally kicked him on the head.
1878 R. Browning Two Poets of Croisic in La Saisiaz & Two Poets of Croisic 86 The gauntlet rings On brazen visor proof against attack.
1928 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country ii. 25 Native cats, which could devastate a fowl roost in one attack.
1971 H. Macmillan Riding Storm xii. 396 [He] was to fall a victim to the murderous attack of a fanatical monk less than two years later.
1995 Harper's Mag. Jan. 40/1 Some of the anti-abortionists..had been implicated in arson and butyric acid attacks on abortion clinics.
2014 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 June 32/2 They are punished by violent attacks by government thugs.
II. Senses relating to other forms of forceful, concerted, aggressive, or destructive action, often originating as figurative or metaphorical uses of branch I.
4. A determined or enthusiastic attempt to achieve or deal with something; spec. †(a) an instance of subjecting a person to temptation (obsolete); †(b) a concerted effort to seduce a woman (frequently as part of an extended metaphor) (obsolete); (c) an act of voraciously eating a meal or item of food.
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the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > [noun] > (a) starting operation > to perform something difficult
attack1647
1647 T. Matthew Missive of Consol. vii. 169 Adam was ruined by the same attaques, which Job repulsed.
1671 J. B. tr. F. L. Delamarca Amorous Travellers iii. ii. 82 To defend his Honour and his Wifes Chastity from the Attaques of a potent pursuer, who assaults his Wife with Courtship, and batters her with fair words.
a1679 Earl of Orrery Mr. Anthony (1690) iii. 24 Ant. When I have began my Attacks, if I do not pierce her Bulwark, I'll give her leave to hang me in a Horn-work.
1697 J. Vanbrugh Relapse iv. 85 I believe Dinner's ready, if your Honour pleases to follow me, I'll lead you on to the attack of a Venison Pasty.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 87 No Man of common Sense will value a Woman the less, for not giving up herself at the first Attack.
1749 D. Garrick Let. 3 Aug. (1963) I. 128 Your Lady will scarcely give us time to finish one Pye before you send Another... to morrow we shall certainly begin the Attack.
1810 W. Combe Schoolmaster's Tour in Poet. Mag. Sept. 194 The Doctor then..pronounc'd the grace..The fierce attack was soon begun.
1874 F. J. Furnivall Rep. Early Eng. Text Soc. 26 The attack [of the Society] is weakest at the farthest point, Anglo-Saxon.
1907 W. Bateson in Science 15 Nov. 652/2 A great school of cytologists, who must..become the colleagues of us breeders in the attack on genetic problems.
1952 T. Armstrong Adam Brunskill vii. 248 Ale gurgled from a bottle,..prelude to the attack upon a meal which astounded Adam.
2006 Independent 17 May (Extra section) 11/2 The idea that when children are brought up in a fairly sterile environment, their immune systems can somehow become disorientated, leading to the sustained but rather futile attack on harmless substances such as pollen or household dust.
5. An instance of vehemently expressed antagonism or hostility, or of action intended to undermine or disrupt; esp. an instance of fierce public criticism. Also: a charge or allegation (now rare).
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the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > [noun] > attack by hostile measures or words
bruntc1425
assaultc1449
battery1562
onset1566
brash1573
breach1578
onslaught1613
onfall1646
attack1653
assay?1705
to return to the charge1752
arietation1797
set-to1808
set1829
dead set1835
go-in1858
on-ding1871
hatchet work1938
blitzkrieg1939
blitz1940
carpet bombing1956
bowling1959
1653 J. Davies in tr. C. Sorel Extravagant Shepherd viii. To Rdr. sig. c4 I Cannot but admire Lysis's reading and his judgment in the old Authors. His attaque of the Fable of Thetis is excellent.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age i. iv. xxii. 139 They who relate this proceeding, to save him from the attack of ingratitude, alledge forsooth, that the Kings Cause ought to prevail.
1674 T. Rymer in tr. R. Rapin Refl. Aristotle's Treat. Poesie Pref. sig. av There appears something roughly Noble throughout this fragment; which, had he been pleased to finish it, would, doubtless, not have been left so open to the attack of Criticks.
1705 D. Defoe Consolidator 186 Their Reputation..is most unhappily tarnish'd and blur'd, with the malicious Attacks of the Whigs on the one Hand, and the Non-Jurants on the other.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 144. ⁋2 The attack upon a rising character.
1805 M. Edgeworth Mod. Griselda xi. 106 Griselda..established herself upon a couch, and began an attack upon Emma.
1850 T. T. Lynch Memorials Theophilus Trinal ix. 169 Some who have braved with forehead of flint public attack.
1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People (1882) v. §2. 227 The knights of the shire united with the burgesses in a joint attack on the royal council.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. iv. 50 It's my bounden duty as a producer to resist every attack on the integrity of American industry to the last ditch.
1926 More Books (Boston Publ. Libr.) 3 167/2 Gosse called the attacks of plagiarism [made against Maurois] ‘perfidious’.
1979 Victorian Periodicals Rev. 12 55 The paper did defend Durham from attacks by The Times.
2012 Daily Tel. 6 Mar. 29/2 The affair..was the subject of a blistering public attack by the Commission.
6.
a. An instance of being afflicted, esp. suddenly, by a disease or other disorder; a short bout or episode of an incapacitating physical or mental condition.heart attack, panic attack, transient ischaemic attack, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > [noun] > bout or attack of
onfalleOE
cothec1000
bitc1175
accessc1300
attacha1400
shota1400
swalma1400
storm1540
excess?1541
accession1565
qualm1565
oncome1570
grasha1610
attachment1625
ingruence1635
turn1653
attack1665
fit1667
surprise1670
drow1727
tossa1732
irruption1732
sick1808
tout1808
whither1808
spell1856
go1867
whip1891
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > [noun] > attack by some hostile or injurious agency
onfalleOE
oncomea1225
sailing13..
visitinga1382
siegec1385
assault1508
visitation1535
assaulting1548
onset1566
assailment1592
blow1594
insult1603
attempt1662
attack1665
offencea1677
seizure1881
1665 G. Harvey Disc. Plague 3 A most Malign Feaver at the first attaque.
1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 251 The King, having had some aguish Attacks at Windsor, appear'd to be more considerative.
1776 Med. Observ. & Inq. (ed. 4) I. 43 Being visited by a gentle attack [of gout] in both feet.
1811 R. Hooper Quincy's Lexicon-medicum (new ed.) at Asthma Its attacks are most frequent during the heats of summer.
1878 J. R. Seeley Life & Times Stein III. 543 He suffered from attacks of overpowering giddiness.
1918 T. S. Eliot Let. 28 July (1988) I. 239 The dentist put his filling too close to the nerve and she [has] had very bad attacks of pain ever since.
1952 F. A. Elliott et al. Clin. Neurol. vii. 133 The attacks cease with puberty and may not recur.
2011 C. Moran How to be Woman (2012) iii. 67 ‘It's all going off at West Midlands Safari Park and Zoo,’ I will say, ruefully, sitting on the toilet during an attack of cystitis.
b. In extended use: an instance or episode of experiencing a particular emotion or state of mind, engaging in a particular type of behaviour, etc., esp. abruptly or temporarily. Cf. sense 7.
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1808 S. H. Burney Geraldine Fauconberg II. iv. 59 Mrs. Neville has..had a furious attack of ennui and spleen.
1870 St. Paul's July 408 Madame de Montespan..had from time to time attacks of remorse.
1925 Post-Herald (Beckley, W. Va.) 9 Oct. 1/1 A violent attack of ‘butterfingers’ seized Peckinpaugh..in the eighth.
1943 P. Larkin Let. 1 Sept. in Sel. Lett. (1992) 67 I had a strong attack of anti-transatlanticism after reading a copy of ‘Look’ or ‘Life’ or ‘Cock’ or something.
1955 Amer. Mag. Apr. 14/1 You're just having an attack of pre-wedding nerves, darling.
1981 J. McPhee Basin & Range 47 The smell of sagebrush is one of the two odors that will unfailingly bring upon him an attack of nostalgia.
2015 S. Jackson Pound of Flesh xxviii. 330 ‘I'm so sorry, Kat. Truly.’ Kat..was intrigued as to what had caused Beth's sudden attack of conscience.
7. A hostile, aggressive, or damaging act attributed to an immaterial agent (such as an emotion, state of mind, etc.), viewed figuratively as an assault or onslaught. Cf. sense 6b.
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1668 H. More Divine Dialogues i. iv. 19 So great a firmitude is there in Life against all the subtle attaques of shifting Reason.
1675 G. R. tr. A. Le Grand Man without Passion vii. 122 If all our prudence be too weak to prevent the assaults of fear, the attacks of grief, the snares of Love, and the surprizals of Anger upon our will, who can [etc.].
1773 J. Murdoch tr. F. de B. d'Arnaud Tears of Sensibility II. 55 The baroness, now she was alone, sustained a thousand attacks from grief, from friendship, from love, and from despair.
1822 Ladies' Lit. Cabinet 13 Apr. 181/1 They cannot withstand the attacks of Despair, and when it once assaults them, their faculties are overwhelmed by its resistless force.
1882 Bp. Ullathorne Groundwork Christian Virtues iv. 89 There is no more decisive way of preserving the soul from attacks of pride than to do some act of humility towards another in God's sight.
1921 Reform Advocate 24 Sept. 173/1 He is..so cock sure of his own opinions that the possibility of their being open to attack by doubt does not rise above his mental horizon.
1996 tr. J. Tissot How to profit from your Faults (2004) i. 13 We must be constantly vigilant and be prepared to defend ourselves against the attacks of self-love.
8.
a. An instance or episode of destructive or dissolving action by a corrosive substance, harmful organism, or other physical agent; (also) action of this type; corrosion, dissolution, eating away.
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the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > commencement of destructive action or attack
attack1680
1680 W. Harris tr. N. Lémery App. Course Chym. 118 These acids must have room to move in, and make their attacks [Fr. secousses].
1701 tr. A. Belloste Hospital-surgeon 172 The Joynts..must be guarded from the Attacks of the Air.
1757 J. Dyer Fleece iii. 94 Dissolving water's, and calcining sun's, And thieving air's attacks.
1781 Philos. Trans. 1780 (Royal Soc.) 70 473 A figure of an unicorn in stone, which stands within the college, had resisted the attacks of the air all to the tip of his horn.
1805 T. H. Horne Compl. Grazier vii. 457 The whipping of the plants with green elder twigs, or boughs, will secure them from the attacks of the cabbage-fly.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. viii. §7. 191 The dark rays..possessing sufficient power to ignite the charcoal, and thus initiate the attack of the oxygen.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxiv. 659 The crystalline mineral forms of alumina are very hard and very resistant to attack by acids.
1971 Daily Tel. 1 Dec. 8/6 By far the worst crime of the grey squirrel was its attacks on hardwood trees by stripping off the bark.
2007 Horse & Rider Oct. 175 Most wooden stables come ready-treated with wood preservative..to protect them from attack by wood beetle.
b. Chemistry. The process by which a reagent or reactive species approaches and interacts with an atom, group, or bond in a molecule, thereby breaking a bond or forming a new one. Cf. attack v. 6b.
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1860 Proc. Royal Soc. 10 622 The chlorine or bromine thus inserted furnishing the point of attack for a second molecule of ammonia.
1936 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 22 443 As the result of increase of temperature or of attack by reagents..the side-chain hydrogen bonds are broken.
2000 M. Clugston & R. Flemming Adv. Chem. xxiv. 440 The OH− ion approaches the molecule from the opposite side to the halogen, where its attack is not impeded by the bulky halogen with its δ− charge.
9.
a. Chess. An attempt to gain a positional advantage; a move or series of moves played with the immediate object of threatening to give checkmate or capture a particular piece; the process of making such an attempt or threat. Also with distinguishing word or name: a particular opening or opening variation initiated by White. Cf. defence n. 5.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > strategy > specific strategies or tactics
unpinning1607
defence1614
fork1656
attack1733
backgame1750
castling1813
exchange1823
pin1868
fringe-variation1898
fidation1910
sacrifice1915
unpin1922
pawn storm1926
Siesta variation1935
liquidation1965
sac1965
1733 Ld. Hervey Let. Game of Chess 12 If successful in their Attacks on the Servant of the King, they never stop there.
1735 J. Bertin Noble Game of Chess p. v When you are well posted, either for attack or defence, you must not be tempted to take any of your adversary's men.
1797 Encycl. Brit. IV. 641/2 As the queen, rook, and bishop, operate at a distance, it is not always necessary in the attack to have them near the adversary's king.
1831 W. Lewis Ser. Progressive Lessons Game of Chess 111 You have now won a pawn, and have besides an excellent attack.
1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant II. x. 294 [He] taught her the Mortimer attack in the Evans gambit.
1932 Griffith & White's Mod. Chess Openings (ed. 5) 105 Nimzovitch's Attack.
1964 Illustr. London News 24 Oct. The word ‘attack’..is really very vague. It indicates a certain keenness in the play, a concentration on definite, and early, objectives.
2001 Times 2 Jan. ii. 18/4 This game sees the eventual tournament winner conducting a thrilling kingside attack.
b. Games and Sport. The action or an act of making a forceful attempt to score points, goals, runs, etc., or otherwise gain an advantage.
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society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [noun] > attack
attack1786
attacking1804
play1868
penetration1958
run-and-gun1967
pressing1976
1786 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved (new ed.) 288 He who strikes the opposite Cushion, and brings the Ball nearest the Cushion where he struck from..must commence Hostilities, and begin the Attack.
1856 ‘A. Wykehamist’ Ups & Downs Public School iv. 35 Just before the clock struck twelve, which was the signal for the attack, the ball was placed in the middle.
1882 Daily Tel. 19 May [Cricket.] Spofforth and Palmer being entrusted with the attack.
1927 W. W. Wakefield & H. P. Marshall Rugger ii. i. 229 Speed off the mark and quick heeling and passing from the scrum are essential to carry the attack over that line.
1939 San Francisco Chron. 3 July h1/8 Conroy began the attack with a belt over the left field wall for a home run.
1966 Punch 6 July 16 Modern football is a managers' game... Attack is based on the counter which passes the opposing defence before it can remuster after its own attack.
2001 M. Breheny & D. Keenan Ultimate Encycl. Gaelic Football & Hurling 159/1 From the puck out Tipperary won the ball and another attack was set up.
c. Sport. The attacking component of a team; the players committed to attacking.In North America, ‘offense’ is the more usual term except in lacrosse; cf. offence n. 5b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > other players
server1585
free agent1649
benchwarmer1662
puncher1681
sticker1779
hard hitter1790
hitter1813
go-devil1835
beneficiaire1841
colt1846
heavyweight1857
stayer1862
left-hander1864
attack1869
cap1879
international1882
roadman1886
big leaguer1887
homester1887
sand lotter1887
badger1890
internationalist1892
repeater1893
anchorman1895
grandstander1896
stylist1897
homebrew1903
letterman1905
toss-loser1906
fouler1908
rookie1908
mudder1912
sharpshooter1912
pro-amateur1919
receiver1919
southpaw1925
freestyler1927
hotshot1927
active1931
all-timer1936
iceman1936
wild card1940
scrambler1954
rounder1955
franchise1957
call-up1960
trialist1960
non-import1964
sandbagger1965
rebel1982
wide-body1986
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > lacrosse > [noun] > specific positions
third man1801
home man1862
point1862
attack1869
home1869
1869 W. G. Beers Lacrosse vi. 92 If Centre loses it, the balance of power is preserved by the retreat of one or more of the attack, according to the fluctuations of the game.
1875 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 43 Upon the introduction of the heavy mallet..it was found that the ‘attack’ was a great deal too strong for the ‘defence’.
1877 Bell's Life in London 21 Apr. 5 Lacrosse... The following London team will take some beating:—T. Archer, H. E. Archer, C. Lysons (attack); [etc.].
1896 Huddersfield Daily Chron. 24 Jan. 4/5 I shall expect him to strengthen the Huddersfield attack under the altered conditions resulting from the new rule concerning half backs.
1902 Steven Inst. Indicator Apr. 214 The lacrosse team this year suffers the loss of four fine players, Captain Layat, Sanders and Gibson of the defense and Scott of the attack.
1973 P. Arnold & C. Davis Hamlyn Bk. World Soccer 192/3 The half backs were still by no means defenders, but supporters of the attack.
1994 I. Botham My Autobiogr. x. 191 David had just brought me back into the attack and told me to have a real rip with the new ball.
2006 D. G. Pietramala & N. A. Grauer Lacrosse (ed. 2) ii. xi. 147 When the attack recognizes that an opportunity exists for a five-on-four fast break, they should get into position quickly.
10. A precise and forceful action or manner in beginning a musical piece, passage, or phrase. Also: forceful and decisive style in music or other arts.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > expression > [noun] > specific types
slurring1806
phrasing1848
attack1871
interpretation1880
account1961
overdotting1969
society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art > qualities generally
decoruma1568
humoura1568
variety1597
strength1608
uniformity1625
barbarity1644
freedom1645
boldness1677
correctness1684
clinquant1711
unity1712
contrast1713
meretriciousness1727
airiness1734
pathos1739
chastity1760
vigour1774
prettyism1789
mannerism1803
serio-comic1805
actuality1812
largeness1824
local colour1829
subjectivitya1834
idealism1841
pastoralism1842
inartisticalitya1849
academicism1852
realism1856
colour contrast1858
crampedness1858
niggling1858
audacity1859
superreality1859
literalism1860
pseudo-classicism1861
sensationalism1862
sensationism1862
chocolate box1865
pseudo-classicality1867
academism1871
actualism1872
academicalism1874
ethos1875
terribilità1877
local colouring1881
neoclassicism1893
mass effect1902
attack1905
verismo1908
kitsch1921
abstraction1923
self-consciousness1932
surreality1936
tension1941
build-up1942
sprezzatura1957
1871 Monthly Pkt. Oct. 401 Their splendid ‘attack’, no dropping in one after another... They knew how to look at their music and the conductor both at once.
1879 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 100 Attack, a technical expression for decision and spirit in beginning a phrase or passage.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 12 Dec. 3/2 Mr. Runcie has fancy, verve, and what artists call ‘attack’.
1906 B. Stoker Pers. Reminisc. H. Irving II. li. 84 In this play Irving was very decided as to the ‘attack’. He had often talked with me about the proper note to strike at the beginning of the play.
1918 F. Densmore Teton Sioux Music (U.S. Bureau Amer. Ethnol. Bull. No. 61) 197 Many of the accented tones were given with a peculiar attack, much used by this singer, which consisted in sounding first a tone slightly above the principal tone and immediately sliding downward to that tone.
1938 A. L. Haskell Ballet vii. 198 Riabouchinska is not a purely classical dancer, lacking the necessary hardness and attack.
1956 I. Deakin At Ballet 206 Attack: In ballet it has the meaning of the deliberation behind the performance of the various steps.
1961 G. Millerson Technique Television Production iii. 45 The face would merge into the background—the picture would lack ‘attack’—appear flat.
1980 B. Arnold Song of Nightingale x. 212 The vibrancy of her approach to the music, her attack, her concentration, suffused the tissue and bone and muscle, so that it seemed that her flesh tingled with the clear soprano sound of her voice.
2005 K. Shadwick Led Zeppelin 145 Page's solo is full of verve and attack.
11.
a. Phonetics. The (method or manner of) commencement of the articulation of a sound; an on-glide.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > glide > [noun]
vanish1833
glide1835
voice glide1844
downglide1876
off-glide1877
vowel-glide1878
glide-consonant1888
glide-vowel1888
on-glide1888
attack1902
glide-sound1911
svarita1916
upglide1930
inglide1956
1902 E. W. Scripture Elements Exper. Phonetics xxix. 434 For pa and sa the attack seems to be more energetic in German than in French.
1946 J. Murray Explosives in Speech in Q. Jrnl. Speech 32 207/1 The sudden attacks reduce breathing and indefinite initiations by augmenting the conversion of air into tone.
1973 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 18 89 The melodic prominence falls on the interrogative cue Qui. The level of attack is at a higher level than the normal fundamental (level 2) but the sentence finishes at level 1.
2012 S. Bender in D. R. Karna Use of Internat. Phonetic Alphabet in Choral Rehearsal v. 49 The letters b, d, f, m, n, p, qu, t, and v are pronounced nearly the same in Italian as we pronounce them in English but with a gentler attack.
b. Acoustics. The initial stage of a sound or waveform from when it first begins to the first peak or maximum amplitude; cf. rise time n. at rise n. Compounds. Contrasted with decay n. 2c.
ΚΠ
1932 Jrnl. Soc. Motion Picture Engineers 18 49 The action which takes place during attack or beginning of a sound wave.
1950 Audio Engin. Aug. 15/3 This also results in altering the attack of a suddenly applied signal, which may become slurred.
1991 Twenty Twenty Spring 69/3 That sound is to do with the relation between the attack and the decay on the sound envelope.
2011 A. U. Case Mix Smart v. 108 Drums, for example, have a sharp attack and nearly instant decay.
12. An attempt to disrupt a computer system, network, etc., by gaining unauthorized access or control.
ΚΠ
1973 A. McKenzie Restricted Use of IMP DDT 30 May (RFC 521) in www.ietf.org (1999) (O.E.D. Archive) We feel that this change will be sufficient to discourage ‘hackers’, although it is obviously insufficient to protect a node against a determined and malicious attack.
1996 Financial Times 16 Apr. 13/1 Teenage hackers and disgruntled employees—long the perpetrators of most computer attacks—have been joined by bands of ‘crackers’ intent on disabling computers.
2008 M. Miller Is it Safe? xxii. 285 After an attack begins, however, the way to shut it down is to block the attacking computers' access.
Phrases
P1. under attack: subject to attack; (while) being attacked. Frequently in to come under attack.In Chess: liable to be captured at one's opponent's next move; cf. sense 9a.
ΚΠ
1820 J. S. Bingham tr. D. L. Ponziani Incomparable Game of Chess 23 There is no law which obliges the Player to take the Pieces or Pawns which are under attack.
1822 in tr. C. Dupin View Hist. & Actual State Mil. Force Great Brit. ix. i. 154 The author has here given liberal testimony to the steadiness of the British troops under attack.
1825 tr. ‘A. D. Philidor’ Stud. of Chess (ed. 6) i. 8 The king must never move so as to come under attack, or expose himself to check.
1869 All Year Round 15 May 55/1 One glowed with delight at praise, or writhed in agony under attack.
1978 W. M. Momyer Air Power in Three Wars 266 When Intelligence indicated military activities in these villages, they were brought under attack.
1992 Independent 20 Aug. 29/1 Prime wine-growing areas..are under attack by a miniscule insect called phylloxera.
2015 E. Crewe House of Commons ii. 66 The Tories have been under attack as the ‘nasty party’ for some decades.
P2. angle of attack: see angle n.2 Phrases 2a. attack is the best form of defence and variants: see defence n. Phrases 1. plan of attack: see plan n. 1b.
Compounds
a. General attributive, as (in branch I.) attack bomber, attack division, attack formation, attack order, attack practice, etc.; (in sense 6) attack rate, etc.
ΚΠ
1686 J. Shirley True Acct. Heroick Actions & Enterprises 3 They soon..sprung a Mine at the Root of their Attack-Bastion, but it effected not the Execution intended.
1864 P. L. MacDougall Mod. Warfare p. xi On the Method of conducting an Attack Formation in Echellon.
1890 A. M. Moore Standing Orders & Regulations Sierra Leone Frontier Police Force iv. 35 Target practice for trained soldiers and recruits: 10 rounds standing, distance 100 yards...10 [rounds] attack practice, between 265 and 150 yards.
1899 Daily News 6 Mar. 8/5 Small-pox breaks out, and..the attack rate is..limited to exactly 10 per cent. in each class.
1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War II. 179 The Companies dressed in attack-order.
1932 W. H. Auden Orators ii. 76 1st Army: 15 attack divisions, 2 ordinary divisions.
1952 Amer. Speech 27 4 Search planes, dive bomber, attack bomber.
1971 Jrnl. Brit. Stud. 10 4 It was now an army of occupation instead of an attack force.
1982 Oecologia 52 276/2 When examining attack success..there is little difference between predators with mosquito larvae prey.
1990 T. G. Wreghitt & P. Morgan-Capner ELISA in Clin. Microbiol. Lab. xiii. 164 Pontiac fever is a non-pneumonic, febrile illness of short duration with a high attack rate among those exposed.
2001 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 6 Dec. b2/2 Close-air support..has involved low-flying attack planes bombing targets near their own forces.
b. † attack field n. Lacrosse Obsolete an attacking player stationed between the homes and the centre; such players collectively; cf. home n.1 9c, centre n.1 17b.
attack ad n. Politics (originally U.S.) an advertisement which promotes a political candidate or party by presenting a negative image of an opposing candidate or party.
ΚΠ
1973 Washington Post 24 June e8/2 The negative, attack ads criticizing McGovern.
1994 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 138/1 Brimming with nervous energy, Davis brings out a rough drawing for an ‘attack ad’ he had planned to use against Malone.
2006 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 14 Jan. f8/3 Would it have been possible for the Liberals to respond to the Conservatives' surges in the polls with a spate of TV attack ads?
attack alarm n. (a) a warning signal indicating that an enemy attack is imminent or under way; (b) a small portable device which, when activated, alerts others that the user is being attacked or is in danger of assault.
ΚΠ
1899 Weekly News (Denver) 6 Apr. 6/9 Each man..sleeps..with his gun leaning against the embankment for instant use in case of an attack alarm.
1961 Hammond (Indiana) Times 31 Oct. a5/1 A $10 device which automatically turns on your radio..could alert 95 per cent of the U.S. population within seconds after an attack alarm.
1975 Security Gaz. Sept. 306 (title) Personal attack alarms—how effective are they as a protection against armed assaults.
1995 Libr. Manager Jan. 19/4 Hostile book hoarders have forced Rotherham's Library Head to issue an attack alarm to a woman official responsible for recovering overdue books, videos and CDs.
2001 M. V. Gannon Pearl Habor Betrayed iii. 59 Ramsey would be the first to sound the attack alarm on 7 December.
attack code n. (a) a coded signal used to give the order to attack, esp. with reference to an attack involving nuclear weapons; (b) Computing an item of code, typically installed on a computer or network by a virus, which performs a malicious function; code of this nature.
ΚΠ
1969 New Republic 29 Nov. 13/2 An Extremely Low Frequency broadcasting system to communicate the ‘attack’ code to Polaris missile submarines.
1990 F. B. Cohen Short Course Computer Viruses i. 31 The virus spreads without violating any protection policy, while it carries any desired attack code to the point of attack.
2006 M. H. Lytle Amer. Uncivil Wars iii. 67 The Pentagon assured Kubrick that no officer could launch such an attack. Only the president possessed the attack code.
2009 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 2 Mar. b4/2 The program contained a complex mechanism designed to permit the downloading of attack code that could presumably do anything from stealing passwords to sending spam e-mail.
attack dog n. originally and chiefly U.S. a dog trained to attack on command, and kept chiefly for this purpose; figurative a person, publication, etc., that employs aggressive language or behaviour, typically on behalf of a cause.
ΚΠ
1942 Phoenix (Arizona) Republic 30 Aug. 3/1 Now, after tutelage by Sergeant Lionel Turcotte,..he's a real army attack dog.
1973 Press Gaz. (Hillsboro, Ohio) 9 Oct. 9/7 He cited the New York Times as being ‘an attack dog’ and the Washington press corps for ‘bias’.
1978 J. Hyams Pool iii. 32 Most homes have..trained attack dogs.
1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct. i. 15/3 The defence, galvanised by the attack-dog tactics of Barry Scheck,..managed to cast considerable doubt on significant parts of the prosecution case.
2004 I. Calder Untold Story viii. 124 For my first TV interview..I faced no less than the premier attack dog of television.
ΚΠ
1877 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 16 Apr. 4/6 The Sheffield team..will be as follows;..defence fields, R. A. Sorby and J. C. Clegg; attack fields, W. A. Matthews and T. H. Sorby.
1892 G. A. Hutchison Outdoor Games 508 The three men nearest the opponents' goal..should practice throwing at goal... The two players next nearest are called the ‘attack fields’.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 28 Apr. 7/3 His place in the attack field.
1911 Encycl. Sport & Games (new ed.) III. 107/1 If they keep to their positions, then attack field feeds the homes; if they follow the homes, attack field at once seizes the opportunity and rushes in to score.
1914 Courier & Argus 3 Jan. 5/7 The attack fields..help the homes and harass the defence fields. The third home is really an assistant attack field.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
attackv.
/əˈtak/, U.S. /əˈtæk/α. 1500s–1700s attacque, 1600s atack, 1600s ataque, 1600s attacke, 1600s–1700s attaque, 1600s– attack.
β. regional and nonstandard (chiefly North American) 1600s–1700s 1900s– attact, 1700s atackt, 1800s– attackt.
1.
a. transitive. To take aggressive military action against (a place, or enemy forces, equipment, etc.) with weapons or armed forces; to join battle with; to begin a military assault on. Also with the weaponry or transport used in such an assault as subject.Recorded earliest in †to attack a skirmish: to join or enter a skirmish. See note in etymology, and cf. attach v. 11, esp. quot. 1562 there.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > attack [verb (transitive)]
greetc893
overfallOE
riseOE
assail?c1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
onseekc1275
to set on ——c1290
infighta1300
saila1300
to go upon ——c1300
to turn one's handc1325
lashc1330
annoyc1380
impugnc1384
offendc1385
to fall on ——a1387
sault1387
affrayc1390
to set upon ——1390
to fall upon ——a1398
to lay at?a1400
semblea1400
assayc1400
havec1400
aset1413
oppressa1425
attachc1425
to set at ——c1430
fraya1440
fray1465
oppugn?a1475
sayc1475
envaye1477
pursue1488
envahisshe1489
assaulta1500
to lay to, untoa1500
requirea1500
enterprise?1510
invade1513
assemblec1515
expugn1530
to fare on1535
to fall into ——1550
mount1568
attack?1576
affront1579
invest1598
canvass1599
to take arms1604
attempt1605
to make force at, to, upon1607
salute1609
offence1614
strikea1616
to give a lift at1622
to get at ——1650
insult1697
to walk into ——1794
to go in at1812
to go for ——1838
to light on ——1842
strafe1915
?1576 G. Gascoigne Spoyle of Antwerpe sig. B.ii They cast of certayne loose shot, from euery Squadrone, and attacqued the scarmouch.
1595 E. Hoby tr. L.-V. de La Popelinière Hist. France ii. 131 The auante couriers and light horse rushing before to attack the skirmish.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. 3 Being attackt with war from the Sabines.
1660 T. Blount Boscobel 6* Lambert with a far greater number of Rebels attaq'd him.
1684 Scanderbeg Redivivus v. 117 2000 Janisaries..were sent out to Attacque a small Castle.
1745 N. Tindal Contin. Rapin's Hist. Eng. XXII. xxvi. 424 The enemy's foremost ship attacked..the August.
?1749 W. Duff New Hist. Scotl. 4 Edward..attack'd the Scots Army at Falkirk.
1803 G. Lake in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 394 When we had encamped..our outposts were attacked by a body of the enemy.
1833 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 519/2 The English Navy attacked the flotilla off Boulogne.
1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People (1882) i. §5. 43 The Danes were the same people in blood and speech with the people they attacked.
1903 Truth (Sydney) 8 Mar. 1/7 50 guns attacked a flying fox camp on the upper Orara, and killed about 2000.
1917 Sat. Evening Post 14 July 26/1 He would go ‘Archie strafing’—that is, flying low over the anti-aircraft guns and attacking them with machine-gun fire.
1962 F. Dvornik Slavs in European Hist. & Civilization iv. 68 The imperial army attacked the Visconti and their allies.
2007 P. J. Nahin Chases & Escapes ii. 78 A different pursuit strategy..is generally used..by real, operational missiles attacking moving targets.
b. transitive. To begin or engage in aggressive and violent physical action against (a person or animal); to attempt to injure or kill; to assault. Later also: to attempt to damage or destroy (property, a building, etc.) by violent action.Originally only of an animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)]
assail?c1225
to set on ——c1290
saila1300
to turn one's handc1325
lashc1330
to set against ——c1330
impugnc1384
offendc1385
weighc1386
checka1400
to lay at?a1400
havec1400
to set at ——c1430
fraya1440
rehetea1450
besail1460
fray1465
tuilyie1487
assaulta1500
enterprise?1510
invade1513
sturt1513
attempt1546
lay1580
tilt1589
to fall aboard——1593
yoke1596
to let into1598
to fall foul1602
attack1655
do1780
to go in at1812
to pitch into ——1823
tackle1828
vampire1832
bushwhack1837
to go for ——1838
take1864
pile1867
volcano1867
to set about ——1879
vampirize1888
to get stuck into1910
to take to ——1911
weigh1941
rugby-tackle1967
rugger-tackle1967
1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad iii. xlvii. 55 A fierce Mastiffe in in [sic] the woody Chace (Whom Shouts, and Hunters Instruments incite) Attacks a Bull.
1700 C. Leigh Nat. Hist. Lancs. ix. 162 The Bird wou'd not approach any Person but those in a Soldier's Habit, which was Red: This was confirm'd to me by several of the Soldiers, whom the Bird had attack'd in this manner.
1708 J. Oldmixon Brit. Empire in Amer. II. 341 A Man must be arm'd with a good long Trunchion, and attack them Side-ways.
1735 Lives Most Remarkable Criminals III. 161 Observing a Cheese-man who received about Fourscore Pounds..they attacked him and bid him deliver.
1834 T. B. Macaulay Let. 3 Oct. in Sel. Lett. (1982) 128 The gang of blackguards..had attacked him, pulled him out, torn off his turban, stripped him almost naked.
1870 Amer. Naturalist 3 159 I saw a Loggerhead attack a snake.
1919 Indiana Mag. Hist. June 172 A gang of wolves in daylight attacked a large flock of sheep which was guarded by a shepherd.
1962 Sci. Surv. 15 238 A ‘territory-holding’ male robin will attack a bundle of red feathers.
1965 Times of India 17 Sept. 5/3 The raiders..were still sporadically attacking public property or harassing the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
2010 Independent 27 July 19/1 Two teenagers who attacked and killed a pensioner in front of his three-year-old granddaughter..were jailed yesterday.
2. intransitive. To launch or engage in a military or violent physical attack.
ΚΠ
1613 R. Dallington Aphorismes Ciuill & Militarie xxxiii. 46 Obietto Fiesco perswades them to attack vpon the East.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 98 Upon a stately Elephant they conveighed him to Attack, leaving slaine behind him twelve thousand men.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Areotectonicks, that part of Military Architecture or Fortification, which shews how to attack safely.
a1736 R. Kane Campaigns King William & Queen Anne (1745) 140 The Army attack'd has the Advantage of Ground.., but the Army which attacks does assuredly get the victory.
1788 Ann. Reg. 1786 Characters 13/1 They engage, attack, and defend themselves with surprising agility.
1826 J. Thomson Etymons Eng. Words Alloo,..to set on, to excite a dog to attack.
1831 W. C. Taylor Pinnock's Improved Ed. Dr. Goldsmith's Abridgment Hist. Eng. (ed. 22) xxxvi. 435 The British navy attacked in two columns.
1854 J. H. Stocqueler Hand-bk. Brit. India (ed. 3) 287 On the north side where Lally attacked, the bastion and demi-bastion are detached.
1927 Aeroplane 33 26/2 Then the twin-engined bombers attacked and lost two of their number, also in flames, to a counter-attack.
1954 H. Frankfort Art & Archit. Anc. Orient 99 When the lion attacked it was offered the left arm to maul, and the right hand holding the sword was free to despatch it.
2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 16 Dec. b9/2 Pre-emptive wars are begun when another country is clearly about to attack.
3. transitive. To subject to vehemently expressed antagonism or hostility, or to action intended to undermine or disrupt; esp. to criticize or oppose fiercely and publicly. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)] > attack with hostile words or measures
fangc1320
hurtlec1374
impugnc1384
weighc1386
to fall upon ——a1398
to start on ——a1398
oppugn?1435
to lay to, untoa1500
onseta1522
wipe1523
to set against ——1542
to fall aboard——1593
aggress1596
to fall foul1602
attack1613
appugn1615
to set upon ——1639
to fall on ——1641
to lay home, hard, hardly to1650
tack1720
bombard1766
savage1796
to pitch into ——1823
to begin upon a personc1825
bulldog1842
to down on (also upon)a1848
to set at ——1849
to start on ——a1851
to start in on1859
set on at or to1862
to let into1872
to go for ——1890
swash1890
slog1891
to get at ——1893
tee1955
1613 R. Dallington Briefe Inference Guicciardines Digression 46 in Aphorismes Ciuill & Militarie To attacke vpon the life and person of a Prince, to giue foment to treasons..; what is this but to seeke the subuersion of the whole State?
1642 Animadversions Animadverted 1 in Animadversions Notes Late Observator (new ed.) The Animadversor hath attackt the Observator, just like a weak and degenerous enemy, that durst not encounter his adversary in open field.
1643 J. Milton Soveraigne Salve 32 Under colour of a pretended partie..the Parliament is attaqued.
1656 A. Cowley Misc. 30 in Poems Some care bestow On us..Attacqu'ed by Envy, and by Ignorance.
1678 J. Owen Ζυνεσις Πνευματικη i. 10 Religion was attacqued or disturbed withal.
1726 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 22 Apr. (1966) II. 64 Firstly she was pleas'd to attack me in very Billingsgate language at a Masquerade.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lix. 271 Who attacks the liberty of the press?
1798 J. Ferriar Illustr. Sterne ii. 25 Rabelais attacked boldly the scholastic mode of education.
1831 T. De Quincey Dr. Parr in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 911/1 He attacked the Archbishop of Dublin..in a rancorous tone.
1852 J. R. Morell & A. Johnson tr. W. G. Tennemann Man. Hist. Philos. (rev. ed.) ii. i. 217 A monk of Marmoutier, named Gaunilon, ably attacked this sort of ontological argument.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xxiii. 172 He was attacked with all the bitterness of a..very unrestrained animosity.
1913 W. H. Taft Pop. Govt. i. 7 Mr. Justice Story was attacked as a renegade of the party.
1969–70 Chinese Sociol. & Anthropol. Fall–Winter 70 Chiang Nan-hsiang..openly and clearly attacked, saying, ‘The method of studying the quotations of Chairman Mao is formalistic.’
2012 New Scientist 17 Mar. 52/2 Harris..ends up rowing back to a position not unlike the ‘compatibilists’ who argue that free will can be reconciled with the laws of physics, a notion he has earlier attacked.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > attract, allure, or entice [verb (transitive)] > tempt
afondOE
fandOE
assailc1225
temptc1230
tenta1250
attempta1513
assay1532
assaulta1535
attack1655
1655 J. Spencer Script. Mistaken Pref. sig. ✝2 Our deare Redeemer hauing been furiously attacked by the Tempter in the desert with the authority of his own word.
1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. i. §20 Finding it their interest to corrupt him with money, they were yet so possest with the reverence of his vertues, that none durst undertake to attaque him.
1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. v. §23 There are few more frequently attaqued then women of quality.
5. transitive. Of a disease or other disorder: to act harmfully on, to afflict; to begin to affect; to cause suffering or harm to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > affect with disease [verb (transitive)] > attack
ofseche?c1225
takec1300
smitea1325
strike1530
infest1542
assault1594
attack1665
grip1818
1665 G. Harvey Disc. Plague 12 The Preservative part seems the best, easiest, and surest cure of the Plague, for if once attaqued, it is great odds whether you escape.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 318 Diseases, Disorders, Weaknesses, Sicknesses, Harbingers and Forerunners of Death attaquing his Bodily Constitution.
1729 E. Strother Pract. Physician for Travellers 251 Where Faintness of Spirits attacks us, there generally the Fever is slow, and these Drops are extemporaneous Recruiters of the Spirits.
1776 G. Allan Sketch Life Bishop of Durham 2 He began to be confin'd; a Gangrene Sore having attack'd the Tendons of his left Foot.
1802 R. B. Sheridan Let. 6 June (1966) II. 178 Mrs. S. has been attack'd but I trust by the Physicians timely effort the disease is stopt.
1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 40 Rheumatism..attacks indiscriminately the young and old.
1954 A. G. L. Hellyer Encycl. Garden Work 57/1 The damping-off disease which attacks seedlings is really a form of collar rot.
2003 Attitude Dec. 91/1 HIV..is an incurable virus disease that attacks the human immune system.
6.
a. transitive. Of a corrosive substance, harmful organism, or other physical agent: (to begin) to act on destructively; to corrode, dissolve, or decompose, to eat away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > begin to act destructively or attack
attack1670
1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) ix. 60 It [sc. the white mulberry] suffers no kind of Vermin to breed on it,..nor dares any Caterpillar attaque it save the silk worm only.
1682 G. Hartman Digby's Choice Coll. Rare Secrets i. 118 The one is Volatile (which is ☿) and the other Rampant, which is the ♁, which do not suffer to be touched nor attacked, until [etc.].
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 128 Phospholite... It is attacked by the concentrated vitriolic frequently with some effervescence, but it is rather decomposed than dissolved.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 232/2 White ants..often attacking the wood-work of houses.
1879 P. Delamotte in Cassell's Techn. Educator IV. 89/1 The mordants used in the dyeing are apt to attack the leather.
1906 M. C. Cooke Fungoid Pests 134 The fungus is a kind of black mould which attacks ripe Peaches.
1986 B. Fussell I hear Amer. Cooking i. i. 18 Corn smut, that black truffle-smelling fungus which attacks ripening corn.
2002 G. McLaren Studio Glass 27 Using strong solutions of hydrofluoric and sulphuric acid that attack the surface of the glass.
b. transitive. Chemistry. Of a reagent or reactive species: to approach and interact with (an atom, group, or bond in a molecule), thereby breaking a bond or forming a new bond.
ΚΠ
1867 Proc. Royal Soc. 15 512 Two atoms of chlorine simultaneously attack the two atoms of hydrogen.
1889 G. M'Gowan tr. A. Bernthsen Text-bk. Org. Chem. i. 50 The olefines..are more readily oxidized than the paraffins, being thereby attacked at the point of the double bond.
1945 Adv. in Carbohydrate Chem. 1 120 This reagent is a powerful electrophilic substance, the driving force being its tendency to make up an octet of shared electrons by attacking the unshared pairs of available atoms.
2006 Science 6 Oct. 70/2 The boron attacks the carbon atom in benzaldehyde to produce the corresponding α-borylbenzyl alcohol.
7. Chess.
a. transitive. To attempt to gain a positional advantage in relation to (an opponent's piece or pieces, or a square on the board); to threaten to capture or give checkmate to (a piece). Also in figurative contexts.With quot. a1677 cf. sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [verb (transitive)] > tactics
to shut up1474
to take upc1475
neck1597
catch1674
to discover check1688
attack1735
retreat1744
fork1745
pin1745
retake1750
guard1761
interpose1761
castle1764
retract1777
to take (a pawn) en passant1818
capture1820
decline1847
cook1851
undouble1868
unpin1878
counter1890
fidate1910
sacrifice1915
fianchetto1927
a1677 T. Manton Sermons (1684) II. xv. 130 The World is Satan's Chess-board; we can hardly move back, or forth, but the Devil sets out one Creature or another to attack us.
1719 R. Seymour Court Gamester 100 The Queen is her Royal Consort's best Defence, and is generally most forward to attack the Enemy.
1735 J. Bertin Noble Game of Chess p. vi Never attack, or defend the king, without a sufficient force.
1797 Encycl. Brit. IV. 640/1 To crowd the adversary's game, which may be done by attacking his pieces with the pawns.
1808 J. H. Sarratt Treat. Chess I. 151 If..he should play his King's Pawn one step, attacking your Queen's Bishop, you must give him check with your Queen.
1861 Chambers's Encycl. II. 799/2 The king cannot castle..when he passes over a square attacked or checked by an adverse piece.
1890 R. F. Green Chess v. 17 The White Knight..attacks both the Black King and Queen.
1914 F. J. Marshall Marshall's Chess 'Swindles' 22/2 After submitting to the loss of two Pawns, his logical course is to attack the King at all costs.
1964 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 23 Apr. 23/4 He brought off a beautiful pure mate..that is each square in the Kings field was attacked only once.
1994 Chess Monthly June 6/3 The next step is to..attack Black's vulnerable queenside pawns.
b. intransitive. To attempt to gain a positional advantage; to threaten checkmate or capture of a piece.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [verb (intransitive)] > tactics
to make a queen1562
neck1597
castle1656
attack1735
retake1750
rook1850
1735 J. Bertin Noble Game of Chess p. iv I have given particular instructions in this book, how the player may make the proper openings, to attack, or defend.
1796 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 145 Be sure you bring out all your Pieces into Play before you begin to attack.
1808 J. H. Sarratt Treat. Chess I. 133 If he attacked heedlessly, his adversary might easily retrieve his game.
1861 Chambers's Encycl. II. 799/1 These sets of men are arrayed opposite to each other, and attack, defend, and capture, like hostile armies.
1935 G. E. Smith & T. G. Bone tr. S. Tarrasch Game of Chess 323 White attacks on the King's side, Black on the Queen's.
1994 Chess Monthly June 25/2 I end up trying to attack with too few pieces.
8. transitive. To begin to deal with (a task, problem, etc.) in a vigorous or determined way; to embark on with the intention of conquest or completion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)] > something difficult
assail1582
assay?1606
attack1689
1689 G. Etherege Let. 2 Oct. in Familiar Lett. Love (1718) I. 244 About a Fortnight after this Loss (for I thought it would be labour lost to attack her Grief in its first Vehemence) I thought myself oblig'd..to make her a small Visit.
1713 T. Rands Pax in Crumena 96 If I have but the good Luck, when I attack the Horn-work of your Stays, as not to suffer a Repulse, I shall then with more Courage, place my Digites upon your two Demi-Bubbylunes.
1794 ‘P. Pindar’ Wks. II. 401 I have ventured forth to attack this Goliah of Ode and Impudence; and I hope, with God's assistance, like little David, to cut off his head.
1812 P. B. Shelley Let. 17 Dec. (1964) I. 341 Mrs. Shelley is attacking Latin with considerable resolution.
1873 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1871–3 1 201 Finding the ore, making all roads, shafts, drifts, etc., which will enable the miner to attack it.
1911 Pedagogical Seminary Dec. 508 There are no fixed methods; each teacher is allowed to attack the work in her own way.
1964 B. Pearson Glossary in F. Sargeson Coll. Stories 1935–63 304 Whack into (food): attack vigorously.
2000 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Jan. 56/2 Any problem, if attacked with sufficient energy and ingenuity, will eventually yield.
9. Sport and Games.
a.
(a) transitive. To direct vigorous or determined effort against (an opponent or number of opponents) in order to score points, goals, runs, etc., or otherwise gain an advantage.
ΚΠ
1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers 109 He attack'd him at Bankasalet (a Game on the Cards..) at which he won..above Three Thousand Nine Hundred Ducatoons.
1793 J. Woodforde Diary 24 Sept. (1929) IV. 60 Between Tea and Supper Miss Hussey and me attacked Mr Webb and Mr Pouncett, we played three Rubbers.
1858 T. Frère Chess Hand-bk. 324 When you find that your partner [in four-player chess], acting on this, has attacked his right-hand adversary, you support him in the best mode you can.
1905 E. Thompson Hockey as Game for Women (ed. 2) v. 41 If she has the least chance of success she must dash out to the edge of the circle and attack her opponent.
1955 Physical Educ. Handbk. for College Women (Florida State Univ.) xi. 136 The three halfbacks..must follow the forwards down the field but attacking the opposing team if the forwards lose possession of the ball.
2009 D. Ringrose Season iii. 74 The forwards will regroup and attack the defence pairing 3-on-2.
(b) transitive. To make a forceful attempt to score or otherwise gain an advantage by directing a ball into (a goal, basket, hole, etc.); (also) to approach (an area of a course, field of play, etc.) in a vigorous or positive manner. Also: (of a team) to play towards (a particular goal or end of the field of play) when moving forward.
ΚΠ
1873 Carthusian Apr. 47/1 The Saunderites became tired of attacking an impregnable goal.
1912 Manch. Guardian 3 July 3/5 With the advantage of attacking the deep end the visitors did much better in the second half.
1914 Autocar 27 June 1238/2 I..watched the innumerable ways in which the competitors attacked the bend.
1926 Times 30 Apr. 7/3 The punishment for a bad shot should..be postponed, so that the player is in a bad strategic position for attacking ‘the green’.
1937 Denton (Texas) Record-Chron. 6 Feb. 3/1 The Broncos..swept over the court attacking the basket with a series of fast-breaking plays.
1998 C. Harmon & J. Andrisani Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons (1999) i. 18 Player A..has one thing in mind: attacking the hole and scoring birdie.
2007 O. Wright From the Lane 162 Tottenham were now attacking the goal we were sitting near.
(c) transitive. To strike (the ball), esp. forcefully and positively; (also) to make a positive effort to score or win by dealing forcefully with (a ball, bowling, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [verb (transitive)] > strike ball
play1756
attack1876
1876 Chambers's Jrnl. 8 July 447/1 It is not requisite that the reds and the blues shall attack the ball alternately.
1883 Aberdeen Weekly Jrnl. 7 June 2/5 Almost immediately the batsmen attacked the bowling of Raeburn and Anton, and for some time runs were got rapidly.
1930 Oxf. Ann. Girls 92/1 If you are going to attack the bowling, there must be no half measures about it.
1965 M. S. Court & D. Lawrence Margaret Smith Story v. 65 She attacked the ball with more zest than she had done in either of our earlier matches.
1994 S. Edberg in Washington Post 21 July d6/3 I need to attack the ball and get to the net.
2014 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 13 Feb. 64 He attacked one Steyn delivery too many and dragged one on to his stumps.
b. intransitive. To make a forceful attempt to score points, goals, runs, etc., or otherwise gain an advantage.
ΚΠ
1888 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 5 Mar. 7/1 When the ball was again started the Wednesday men began to attack vigorously, and eventually Cawley was able to try a shot, but kicked over the bar.
1906 D. Gallaher & W. J. Stead Compl. Rugby Footballer v. 78 When his own side is attacking vigorously he [sc. the full back] is an idle man.
1948 N. H. Patterson Compl. Lawn-Tennis Player xiii. 99 The only way to beat such a player is to constantly attack.
1991 Cycling Weekly 27 July 13/1 Mottet had attacked from the bunch, crossing the summit just over two minutes behind.
10. Music.
a. transitive. To begin to play or sing (a note, phrase, passage, etc.) in a precise and forceful manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > expression > [verb (transitive)] > play with specific types of expression
slur1746
staccato1814
attack1818
phrase1866
interpret1880
1818 W. Shield tr. G. G. Ferrari Conc. Treat. Ital. Singing 6 To produce what the Italians term messa di voce, the singer must attack [It. attacca] the note readily, and sustain it firmly.
1884 Musical Times Nov. 654/2 The fugal passages were promptly and vigorously attacked, and due attention paid to light and shade both in the choruses and solos.
1926 Melody Maker Mar. 22/2 Re flutter-tongue, attack your note and roll the tongue as though pronouncing Tr-r-r-r-r-r with the ‘r’ rolled as in the French language.
1967 Oxf. Mail 27 Nov. 6/1 Those boys from the Chapel Royal and St. Paul's..attack their leads with the confidence of professionals.
1993 Q May 96/2 He attacks the regulation fast soukous numbers with relish—the guitars flowing beautifully.
b. intransitive. To play or sing in a precise and forceful manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > expression > [verb (intransitive)] > use specific types of expression
attack1835
phrase1846
1835 Court Mag. 6 264/1 The instruments do not attack properly—that is to say, they do not come in simultaneously with sufficient precision to form a sharp, crisp chord, as if proceeding from a single instrument.
1907 Bull. Harvard Med. Alumni Assoc. May 14 We all observed how the chorus attacked. They went off together, in time and tune.
1975 Notes (Music Libr. Assoc.) 31 866/1 The flute's ability effortlessly to attack and release in all registers.
1987 J. Horowitz Understanding Toscanini ii. 102 Furtwangler's..orchestra attacked with an energy welling up from within.
2008 K. Spencer Film & Television Scores vi. 225 On the main title, the orchestra attacks with stormy bluster.
11. transitive. To attempt to disrupt (a computer system, network, etc.) by gaining unauthorized access or control. Also with the owner(s) of the system, network, etc., as object. Cf. hack v.1 15d.
ΚΠ
1974 A. Evans et al. in Communications ACM 17 441/2 Having first implemented H on his own computer, he [sc. the intruder] is able to study it independently of the system being attacked.
1984 InfoWorld 31 Dec. 17/2 These people are criminals attacking computers and hurting people as well.
1995 M. Palmer in B. Etter & M. Palmer Police Leadership in Australasia i. 28 A hacker penetrated a multinational company's internal network and over several days attacked over 1000 networks.
2002 K. Jamsa Hacker Proof (ed. 2) iii. 94 If your network does not have a physical connection to the Internet, Internet users cannot access or attack your local network.
2014 Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle 31 Aug. d3/3 The FBI is investigating an incident in which Russian hackers attacked the U.S. financial system this month.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1646v.?1576