attack
1
5.5
- noun
- /əˈtæk/
- Specialized
- Large storms may generate high enough waves and water levels to cause direct wave attack on dunes.
- chemical attack
- corrosion attack
- vulnerable to attack
Examples
-
More permanent, but costly, means of protection against sulphate attack require the use of special cements blended with reactive silica.
Academic text (2003) -
Their home, like ours, is under attack from climate change.
-
An exponentially rising number of terrorist attacks is one metric that seems relevant.
Academic text (2005) -
The glass can withstand mortar attack.
-
Shortly after I was discharged, my wife and I were vacationing in Florida, and we were involved in a shark attack.
-
Successful companies and products are perpetually "under attack," and new entrants will inevitably make their mark.
Academic text (1994) -
As the fear of chemical attack intensified, Eagleburger returned to Israel and reiterated American requests for restraint.
Academic text (1993) -
Other common root causes of concrete deterioration in water and wastewater tanks are abrasion, chemical attack, and freeze-thaw cycling.
Academic text (1998) -
The chemical attack led to widespread devastation in the affected area.
-
Experts warned that an attack on the ozone layer could have catastrophic effects on the planet.
Idioms
Compounds
- NSFW
192
3.9
A sudden violent act against civilians to make people afraid and reach political or religious goals
16
2.5
A sudden time when breathing becomes very difficult and you make a high whistling sound
- NSFW
9
5.5
An attack using bacteria, viruses or poisons to harm people, animals and crops
- Specialized
2
5.5
A military ship that travels under water to find and destroy enemy ships
- Specialized
2
7.7
The angle between incoming air and a wing's front-to-back line that affects how the wing lifts
- Specialized
1
5.7
A brief time when part of the brain gets too little blood, causing sudden weakness or vision loss
- Specialized
1
8.6
A U.S. military kit that turns a regular bomb dropped from a plane into a precise guided bomb
- Specialized
1
7.8
An action by soldiers to draw the enemy's attention away from the main battle
- Specialized
1
8.1
A big military ship with a long flat deck that carries and launches fighter planes
- NSFW
1
7.8
An attack using germs or poisons to harm people, animals and food supplies
How Damaging
5
6.2
- Specialized
19
6.1
43
4.5
- Specialized
1
5.5
301
3.5
Surface Forms
Etymology
Attack comes from the basic idea of 'attaching' or 'going at' something, so when materials or objects suffer an attack it means a destructive process has begun that harms them over time.