attachment

[ uh-tach-muhnt ]
See synonyms for: attachmentattachments on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an act of attaching or the state of being attached.

  2. a feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; devotion; regard: a fond attachment to his cousin; a profound attachment to the cause of peace.

  1. Psychology. : See also attachment disorder, attachment theory.

    • an emotional bond between an infant or toddler and primary caregiver, a strong bond being vital for the child’s normal behavioral and social development.

    • an enduring emotional bond that develops between one adult and another in an intimate relationship: romantic attachment.

  2. something that attaches; a fastening or tie: the attachments of a harness; the attachments of a pair of skis.

  3. an additional or supplementary device: attachments for an electric drill.

  4. Law. seizure of property or person by legal authority, especially seizure of a defendant's property to prevent its dissipation before trial or to acquire jurisdiction over it.

  5. something attached, as a document added to a letter.

  6. Digital Technology. a computer or electronic file sent with an email.

Origin of attachment

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English attachement “detention, distraint, seizure,” from Anglo-French; see attach, -ment

synonym study For attachment

5. See addition.

Other words for attachment

Other words from attachment

  • non·at·tach·ment, noun
  • o·ver·at·tach·ment, noun
  • pre·at·tach·ment, noun
  • re·at·tach·ment, noun
  • self-at·tach·ment, noun
  • su·per·at·tach·ment, noun

Words Nearby attachment

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

How to use attachment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for attachment

attachment

/ (əˈtætʃmənt) /


noun
  1. a means of securing; a fastening

  2. (often foll by to) affection or regard (for); devotion (to): attachment to a person or to a cause

  1. an object to be attached, esp a supplementary part: an attachment for an electric drill

  2. the act of attaching or the state of being attached

    • the arrest of a person for disobedience to a court order

    • the lawful seizure of property and placing of it under control of a court

    • a writ authorizing such arrest or seizure

  3. law the binding of a debt in the hands of a garnishee until its disposition has been decided by the court

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