attach
verb
Simple meaning
To fasten, to join to.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhtachSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈtætʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
To include an attachment with a communication (especially an email or other electronic communication).
intransitive
To adhere; to be attached.
To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; with to.
To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; with to.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).
Used this way, attach is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use attach
- “The spider's thread attached to the window sill.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Used of buildings joined by common sidewalls.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A feeling of affection for a person or an institution.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Be present or associated with an event or entity.
A terminal connected to a computer by a data link.
A terminal connected to a computer by a data link.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.