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Glite Dictionary
to attach to

to attach to

169 2.7
To be connected with a person, thing, or event
  • phrasal verb
  • /əˈtæʧ tu/
translation icon : estar asociado a
  • Today, we expect all children to survive, and we attach great value to their survival from the beginning.
  • importance attached to
  • meaning attached to
  • value attached to

So these viruses kind of attached to something in the body.

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Examples

  • You just realized that I can attach my camera to the selfie stick.

  • I'll attach this microphone to your clothing or pillow, if that's okay.

    Hannibal (2001)

  • Are you attached to National Security?

    Starman (1984)

  • The level of commitment students attach to goals can also change.

    Academic text (2011)

  • It's the thoughts you attach to that make you suffer.

  • The receiver must be able to attach meaning to what the sender intends in communicating messages.

    Academic text (2011)

  • He decided to attach to the project to help his team meet the deadline.

  • Many emotions can attach to memories we hold dear from childhood.

  • You should attach to your audience's interests to make your presentation engaging.

Synonyms

to belong to
vsto attach to
∞ 1.0

To be part of a group or be owned by someone

is about being present with or associated, not indicating membership
to relate
vsto attach to
317 2.2

To be connected or important to something

is about being present with things rather than only having a logical link
to go with
vsto attach to
171 2.2

To be present at the same time as something

is neutral and fits formal usage rather than casual speech
to come with
vsto attach to
164 1.3

A thing included with a product as a usual extra, for example a charger with a phone

means association or presence without implying it is a usual included part
to accompany
vsto attach to
145 3.8

To be present at the same time as something else

is more about being associated rather than necessarily present at the same time

Antonyms

to disassociate
16 7.0

To end a connection with a person, group, or idea

How Associated

to belong to
∞ 1.0
to attach to
169 2.7
related to
484 2.0
to link
376 3.0

Surface Forms

attach infinitive
attached past
attached past participle
attaching present participle
attaches third person singular

Morphology

attach + to

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'attach' (to connect or affix) with the preposition 'to' which marks the target of the connection; together they denote being joined or associated with something. This verb + to composition is a common, literal pattern cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The verb attach to comes from the simple image of attach meaning 'to stick' and something being stuck to another thing, like a label on a box. So when a feeling or idea attaches to a person or place, it means it is 'connected' to them.