# attack

> English word · Noun · IPA /əˈtæk/ · frequency rank #842

## Definitions
1. An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
2. An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
3. An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
4. A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
5. The beginning of active operations on anything.
6. An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
7. Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
8. Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
9. The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
10. The sudden onset of a disease or condition.
11. An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
12. The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
13. The amount of time taken 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).
14. The initial sensory impact of a wine.
15. Short for heart attack.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Italian a-
Proto-Indo-European *dews-?
Proto-Indo-European *dus-
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwi-
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwís
Latin dis-
Old French des-
Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg-
Proto-Germanic *stikaną
Proto-West Germanic *stekander.
Old French atachier
Old French destachier
Middle French destacherbor.
Italian distaccare
Italian staccare
Italian attaccarebor.
French attaquer
French attaquebor.
English attack
Borrowed from French attaque, derived from the verb attaquer, from Italian attaccare (“to join, attach”) (used in attaccare battaglia (“to join battle”)), from Frankish *stakkijan (“to stick, stick to, attach”). Doublet of attach. Displaced native Middle English onresen, from Old English onrǣsan (“to attack”); and Middle English resinge (“an assault, attack”) (compare Old English onrǣs (“an attack”)).

## Easily confused with
- **attic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attic)
- **attain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attain)
- **Attica** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attica)
- **attacks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attacks)
- **attract** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attract)
- **attacked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attacked)
- **attacker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attack-vs-attacker)
- **atta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/atta-vs-attack)
- **aback** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/aback-vs-attack)
- **attach** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attach-vs-attack)
- **attaché** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/attache-vs-attack)

## Common misspellings (7)
`atack`, `atatck`, `attacck`, `attackk`, `attakc`, `attcak`, `tatack`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/attack