to fasten or affix; join; connect: to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.
2.
to join in action or function; make part of: to attach oneself to a group.
3.
Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.
4.
to include as a quality or condition of something: One proviso is attached to this legacy.
5.
to assign or attribute: to attach significance to a gesture.
6.
to bind by ties of affection or regard: You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.
7.
Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.
8.
Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.
–verb (used without object)
9.
to adhere; pertain; belong (usually fol. by to or upon): No blame attaches to him.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME atachen < AF atacher to seize, OF atachier to fasten, alter. of estachier to fasten with or to a stake, equiv. to estach(e) (< Gmc *stakkastake) + -ier inf. suffix]
1330, "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from O.Fr. estachier "to attach" (Fr. attacher, It. attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frank. *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Gmc. word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is first attested 1802, from French. Attachment "affection, devotion" is from 1704.
become attached; "The spider's thread attached to the window sill" [ant: come away]
4.
create social or emotional ties; "The grandparents want to bond with the child" [syn: bind]
5.
take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment"; "The police confiscated the stolen artwork" [syn: impound]
At*tac"ca\ [It., fr. attaccare to tie, bind. See Attach.] (Mus.) Attack at once; -- a direction at the end of a movement to show that the next is to follow immediately, without any pause.
At*tach"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attached; p. pr. & vb. n. Attaching.] [OF. atachier, F. attacher, to tie or fasten: cf. Celt. tac, tach, nail, E. tack a small nail, tack to fasten. Cf. Attack, and see Tack.]1. To bind, fasten, tie, or connect; to make fast or join; as, to attach one thing to another by a string, by glue, or the like. The shoulder blade is . . . attached only to the muscles. --Paley. A huge stone to which the cable was attached. --Macaulay. 2. To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship. 3. 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; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery. Incapable of attaching a sensible man. --Miss Austen. God . . . by various ties attaches man to man. --Cowper. 4. To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance. Top this treasure a curse is attached. --Bayard Taylor. 5. To take, seize, or lay hold of. [Obs.] --Shak. 6. To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment, 4. The earl marshal attached Gloucester for high treason. --Miss Yonge. Attached column (Arch.), a column engaged in a wall, so that only a part of its circumference projects from it. Syn: To affix; bind; tie; fasten; connect; conjoin; subjoin; annex; append; win; gain over; conciliate.
At*tach"\, v. i. 1. To adhere; to be attached. The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted. --Brougham. 2. To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest; as, dower will attach. --Cooley.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [uh-tach] Pronunciation Key 
