attacks
/əˈtæks/noun
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An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of opponent or enemy.
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An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
"They claimed the censorship of the article was an attack on free speech."
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A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
"The army timed their attack to coincide with the local celebrations."
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(by extension) The beginning of active operations on anything.
"Having washed the plates from dinner, I made an attack on the laundry."
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An attempt to exploit a vulnerability in a computer system.
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Collectively, the bowlers of a cricket side.
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Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.
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The three attackmen on the field or all the attackmen of a team.
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The sudden onset of a disease or condition.
"I've had an attack of the flu."
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An active episode of a chronic or recurrent disease.
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The onset of a musical note, particularly with respect to the strength (and duration) of that onset.
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(audio) The amount of time it takes for the volume of an audio signal to go from zero to maximum level (e.g. an audio waveform representing a snare drum hit would feature a very fast attack, whereas that of a wave washing to shore would feature a slow attack).
verb
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To apply violent force to someone or something.
"This species of snake will only attack humans if it feels threatened."
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To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar).
"She published an article attacking the recent pay cuts."
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To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
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To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
"I attacked the meal with a hearty appetite."
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To aim balls at the batsman’s wicket.
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To set a field, or bowl in a manner designed to get wickets.
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To bat aggressively, so as to score runs quickly.
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To move forward in an active attempt to score a point, as opposed to trying not to concede.
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To accelerate quickly in an attempt to get ahead of the other riders.