attaché

[ a-ta-shey, at-uh- or, especially British, uh-tash-ey ]
See synonyms for: attachéattachesattachés on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a diplomatic official attached to an embassy or legation, especially in a technical capacity: a commercial attaché;a cultural attaché.

  2. a military officer who is assigned to a diplomatic post in a foreign country in order to gather military information: an air attaché;an army attaché;a naval attaché.

  1. Also attache . attaché case.

Origin of attaché

1
1825–35; <French: literally, attached, past participle of attacher to attach

Words that may be confused with attaché

Words Nearby attaché

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use attaché in a sentence

  • On n'y apprend rien de nouveau, et cependant il attache et intresse.

    Baron d'Holbach | Max Pearson Cushing
  • He was no less a personage than the attache, of whom she had written to Pamela, and his name was Victor Maurien.

    Theo | Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • In the discussion which followed the conclusion of the story of the Naval Attache the gentleman with the pearl took no part.

    In the Fog | Richard Harding Davis
  • He caught up his glass, and slapped the Naval Attache violently upon the shoulder.

    In the Fog | Richard Harding Davis

British Dictionary definitions for attaché

attaché

/ (əˈtæʃeɪ, French ataʃe) /


noun
  1. a specialist attached to a diplomatic mission: military attaché

  2. British a junior member of the staff of an embassy or legation

Origin of attaché

1
C19: from French: someone attached (to a mission), from attacher to attach

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for attaché

attaché

[ (a-ta-shay, at-uh-shay) ]


A diplomatic officer attached to an embassy or consulate. Most attachés have specialties, such as military attachés, cultural attachés, economic attachés, and so forth.

Notes for attaché

Some nations disguise spies as attachés.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.