1. [n]  a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase
2. [n]  an offensive move in a sport or game; "they won the game with a 10-hit attack in the 9th inning"
3. [n]  the act of attacking; "attacks on women increased last year"; "they made an attempt on his life"
4. [n]  ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation; "his approach to every problem is to draw up a list of pros and cons"; "an attack on inflation"; "his plan of attack was misguided"
5. [n]  an offensive against and enemy (using weapons); "the attack began at dawn"
6. [n]  strong criticism; "he published an unexpected attack on my work"
7. [n]  intense adverse criticism; "Clinton directed his fire at the Republican Party"; "the government has come under attack"; "don't give me any flak"
8. [n]  the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent); "the film was sensitive to attack by acids"; "open to attack by the elements"
9. [n]  a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition; "an attack of diarrhea"
10. [v]  begin to injure; "The cancer cells are attacking his liver"; "Rust is attacking the metal"
11. [v]  set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task; "I attacked the problem as soon as I got out of bed"
12. [v]  attack verbally, in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"
13. [v]  take the initiative and go on the offensive; "The Serbs attacked the village at night"; "The visiting team started to attack"
14. [v]  launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities with, as in warfare; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"
15. [v]  attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly"

Attack
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1. \At*tack"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Attacked}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Attacking}.] [F. attaquer, orig. another form of attacher
   to attack: cf. It. attacare to fasten, attack. See {Attach},
   {Tack} a small nail.]
   1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with force and
      arms; to assault. ``Attack their lines.'' --Dryden.
   2. To assail with unfriendly speech or writing; to begin a
      controversy with; to attempt to overthrow or bring into
      disrepute, by criticism or satire; to censure; as, to
      attack a man, or his opinions, in a pamphlet.
   3. To set to work upon, as upon a task or problem, or some
      object of labor or investigation.
   4. To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or
      destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
            On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever.
                                                  --Macaulay.
            Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass. --B.
                                                  Stewart.
   Syn: To {Attack}, {Assail}, {Assault}, {Invade}.
   Usage: These words all denote a violent onset; attack being
          the generic term, and the others specific forms of
          attack. To attack is to commence the onset; to assail
          is to make a sudden and violent attack, or to make
          repeated attacks; to assault (literally, to leap upon)
          is to attack physically by a had-to-hand approach or
          by unlawful and insulting violence; to invade is to
          enter by force on what belongs to another. Thus, a
          person may attack by offering violence of any kind; he
          may assail by means of missile weapons; he may assault
          by direct personal violence; a king may invade by
          marching an army into a country. Figuratively, we may
          say, men attack with argument or satire; they assail
          with abuse or reproaches; they may be assaulted by
          severe temptations; the rights of the people may be
          invaded by the encroachments of the crown.
   

2. \At*tack"\, v. i.
   To make an onset or attack.
   

3. \At*tack"\, n. [Cf. F. attaque.]
   1. The act of attacking, or falling on with force or
      violence; an onset; an assault; -- opposed to defense.
   2. An assault upon one's feelings or reputation with
      unfriendly or bitter words.
   3. A setting to work upon some task, etc.
   4. An access of disease; a fit of sickness.
   5. The beginning of corrosive, decomposing, or destructive
      action, by a chemical agent.