What does attach mean?
To attach is to fasten or join one thing to another, whether literally — as when you attach a document to an email or attach a label to a package — or figuratively, as when people attach importance, blame, or conditions to a decision. A further sense connects people rather than objects: a journalist may be attached to a news bureau, or a soldier attached to a particular unit, meaning they are formally assigned there. The word carries no strong emotional charge on its own, which makes it versatile across registers: it is equally at home in casual instructions ('attach the file'), business correspondence, and formal legal or diplomatic language, where it can also mean to seize property under legal authority. Its opposite is detach, and its most common companions are nouns like file, label, and form. Because attaching implies creating a connection that could be undone, the word subtly suggests a link held in place rather than one permanently fused — useful when precision about how firmly two things are joined actually matters.
verbTo fasten, join, or connect one thing to another, either physically or figuratively. Also, to attribute significance or feeling to something, or to assign someone to a particular duty or organization.
- To fasten or join one thing physically to another (e.g. attach a file, attach a label).
- To attribute or ascribe something abstract such as importance, blame, or conditions (e.g. attach importance to).
- To formally connect a person to an organization or duty, especially in military or professional contexts (e.g. attached to the embassy).
- (Law) To seize property by legal authority or to bind an order so that it takes effect.
"Please attach your résumé to the email before sending it."
"She attached a photograph of the house to her application."
"The committee attached great importance to the findings of the independent review."
"As a foreign correspondent, he was attached to the newspaper's Paris bureau for two years."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attach
Attach entered English from Old French 'atachier', meaning to fasten or fix, likely of Germanic origin (related to 'stake'). It appeared in Middle English around the 14th century. Notably, its sibling 'attack' derives from the same Old French root but took on a violent meaning through Italian influence ('attaccare', to join battle), while 'attach' retained the gentler sense of joining or fastening. Related forms include the noun 'attaché', borrowed from French for a person attached to a diplomatic staff.
Usage notes
Standard in all registers; common in both everyday and technical contexts. In computing and business writing, 'attach' frequently appears with files and documents ('attach a file'). The sense of assigning someone to a unit or post is more common in British English and formal/military contexts. In legal usage, 'attach' has specialized meanings relating to seizing property that are not interchangeable with the general senses.